Iskola Preparatory Academy
by Rain Seaker
Summary: Voldemort didn't wait after his rebirth in the graveyard to begin a war and without any warning the wizarding world is caught up in something it isn't prepared for. Follow Harry as he prepares for the biggest fight of his life. Very AU. No pairings yet.
1. The Uncanny Ability

**Author's Note:**

This is IMPORTANT please read. This story is by no means the most original story in the world. There have been many stories focused around Harry in a New School with a New Name and a New Life. I will make it my own and in no way will I purposefully try to plagiarize anyone else's work.

If you like this story than I really encourage you to find and read Bloody Skies by Toki Mirage and A Second Chance at Life by Miranda Fairgold. There are others out there that are also well written but these are the two best that I have found.

Warnings: There may or may not be slash or any romance at all. There will be violence and gore. I will add warnings when they come up.

I can almost guaranty that someone will not like this story. That is okay with me I could care less about what you like. This is my story and I will do what I want with it.

This story is cannon until the summer after 4th year. I will be messing with the time line a bit and I still include horcruxes.

Please Review, it inspires us writers, but if you are just going to flame then you can shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

Disclaimer: I don't own the work of J.K. Rowling and never will.

**Chapter 1: The Uncanny Ability to Survive Certain Death**

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June 1st, 1995

It was a cold and clammy night on Privet Dr. which was unusual for this time of year, but even more so because the days had been so hot. It put an edge of foreboding on what would otherwise be a nice night. Although, Harry Potter wasn't having that great a night to start with, he currently found himself cornered by his _cousin_ Dudley and one of Dudley's friends Piers Polkiss.

"Lookie who we found Big D. reminds me of the good old days, what did we call that game again?" Piers asked snidely.

"Harry Hunting." Dudley was looking increasingly uncomfortable at this point and started shuffling his feet like he wanted to run away. It had been that way from the start of the summer.

Harry sighed to himself, he really didn't want to have to deal with the neighborhood bullies, all he had wanted was a nice walk to clear his head. This summer had been worse than any previously, although the family mostly left Harry alone. When he had gotten back to the house after the train ride his Uncle had tried to lock up his trunk and Hedwig, tried being the key word. Harry turned on his Uncle with a Snape glare in his eye and though he was a good head shorter than his Uncle he had something that added to his intimidation factor. He had seen something that no other person in the house had ever come close to seeing, the murder of a friend and the rising of the greatest Dark Lord in the last century.

His Uncle had mostly left him alone after that look still scared of his magic and his bad temper. Harry had taken out his sadness before he left Hogwarts, Hermione and Ron had helped enormously with that, but he still had a heart full of anger at the man who killed his parents and the newest friend he had made.

Cedric was a good person and a better Hufflepuff, after the hint that Harry had given him before the first task they started talking more. Cedric was one of the only people to believe him when he first said that he didn't put his name in the Goblet. Cedric had helped him study for the next two tasks and the two had helped each other though the rough time both of them had. When it had been the two of them at the end of the third task Harry thought it would be fitting to give the two Hogwarts champions a joint win when they had both done the work.

When the portkey activated and both Harry and Cedric were sent to that graveyard Harry was scared and nervous, but was glad that he had someone he could trust beside him. When the portkey had activated for the second time bringing Harry and the dead body back Harry had felt he lost a part of himself that day. He had never wished more in his life to be more Slytherin and had been ambitious enough to take the cup for himself.

Later that night after the debacle with fake Mad-eye and the Ministry, Hermione and Ron secreted Harry back to the common room and sat with him. They didn't force him to explain what happened, they just sat, listened, and comforted him. It was then that he knew that he wouldn't have made it through the years without the help of the two friends at his side.

Now though he couldn't think of that, he had to deal with the bullies in front of him. The worry had been eating up at him all summer about what was going on back in the wizarding world. Hermione and Ron hadn't written him once since the start. It wasn't that strange, but it felt off somehow. It had already been three weeks, but still no word from anyone including Sirius.

"Really, Dudley? Big D, isn't that just as bad as…?" Harry didn't get any farther because of the fist that hit him in the stomach. Piers had apparently learned to hit in Harry's time away from the bullies. Now Harry was mad. He drew his wand and although Dudley looked like he was about to piss himself, Piers couldn't have cared less.

"Oh, big bad Potter out to get us with his tiny stick, what you gonna do? Poke me in the eye?" Piers was laughing at his own terrible joke now, it was the kind of sound that made babies cry. He jabbed Dudley in the stomach when he realized he wasn't laughing either. He gave a shiver though as an unnatural breeze ran through the alley way.

Harry was suddenly far away, he had remembered this feeling. There was something about it that was so familiar to him, like he had felt it before, not that long ago either. Harry's eyes widened he remembered this feeling; he didn't know how he ever could have forgotten. Just as he raised his wand he was reminded of the two muggles that were in his line of sight.

"Dudley, Piers you have to get out of here, now." He was scared now the cold was starting to creep in and there was only one thing that could mean.

"Now look here, Potty I'm not going anywhere until you're bloody." Piers laughed at his scared look and in one move that doomed them all he grabbed Harry's wand. "Look now, not such a tough guy without you stick to protect you." And before Harry could grab it back or Dudley could yell for his friend to stop Piers had the wand across his knee and in one swift move he broke it in two.

Harry couldn't hear them anymore, he couldn't feel the Dementors approach, and he couldn't think, his chest hurt, it hurt so much. Harry was gasping and clutching his chest, this was worse than Voldemort's Cruico. He felt as though a piece of his self had been broken, a vital piece, a piece that could have saved them from the encroaching coldness.

Piers and Dudley were shivering outright now without a clue as to what they had done or how they had cursed themselves with a fate of becoming a human vegetable. Piers dropped the broken wand to the ground. Harry went with it, his hands grabbing the two pieces of wand. The wood was completely gone, it had splintered itself and was now giving off sparks like a muggle electronic thrown into water. Although the wood was a goner, the phoenix feather inside looked fine. Harry touched it softly and gasped when the sparks flew higher. He tugged the feather out of the broken wand and clenched it in his hand.

They didn't have any time left, Harry could now see the Dementors taking shape in the entrance to the alley way, there were two of them and they were swiftly making their way to the cowering muggles and Harry. He didn't know what to do, without his wand they were pretty much helpless to the Dementors. Before he could do anything but look on with horror the Dementors were upon them. Harry was finally taken over by the screams of his late mother and the green flashes that followed him his entire life.

He could no longer see anything but the black behind his own eyes. He could feel icicles start to form on his fingertips and the sweat that had covered him for most of the day had frozen on his body. There was nothing to do anymore but wait. He could barely feel the skeletal hands as they grabbed at him and pulled him close, he was too lost in the screams and cries of his bad memories. Then with as much strength as he could muster her cracked an eyelid and immediately wished he hadn't. The Skeleton face of the Dementor was by far the most hideous thing e had ever seen. It looked blackened and rotted like there still a kind of flesh on top, but it would only take a scratch to reach the disgusting inside.

What a way to die, looking at the face of the thing that was going to suck out your soul. He had cursed himself but opening his eyes, so he quickly shut them again and tried to remember the faces of the people he loved that would be sad to see him go. It was too hard and eventually Harry gave into the feelings of despair and sadness, he hoped it would be quick that way he didn't have to deal with the pain anymore.

Then just like a flip had been switched he went from freezing cold to burning hot. It was painful, so very painful. It was supposed t be nice and calming like going to sleep but it wasn't like that, it was like… getting your soul ripped from your chest. He was screaming, crying in agony, this was way worse than getting his wand broken, but it hurt more because it came right after. Getting hit while your down is never fun, take it from someone who spent half of his life on the ground getting beat.

He did wonder if it was supposed to hurt this much though, Dudley and Piers were no longer crying or screaming, but it could be because their Dementor was already done. Then as quickly as the pain came, it left, leaving behind nothingness.

Dark…

Cold…

Despair…

Black…

Sadness…

Empty…

Harry couldn't feel his body anymore maybe that was the reason there was no longer any pain. Now though it was cold, icy even, like being in a blizzard without any snow. Harry let the feeling over take him, there was no use fighting anymore the battle had already been lost.

He wondered why he still had some form of consciousness, wasn't he suppose to be dead? He let out a sort of pulse trying to find where he was. His best guess was the belly of the beast, so to say. He felt something, it was like a tug. A link, it had to lead somewhere. He followed where it dragged him for a while and then stopped for a second. Though he didn't have sight he could still feel something in the corner of his eye. There. The best way Harry could describe it would be like some kind of orb. It was a grayish color and it seemed to be getting more and more blackened as time went on like something was eating at it and digesting it. Oh dear, that was exactly it, the Dementor was eating away at a soul.

Harry suddenly felt a very real urge to get out of the stomach as quickly as he possibly could. He grabbed the link again and pulled. He tugged and tugged, pulling himself out. He could feel it out there, his body. He knew what it felt like, how he moved in it and he wanted it back, he wanted it so much that it hurt…wait that was it, the hurt just like it had been before.

He pulled harder this time, something was going to break and it wasn't going to be him. It was so close if, he could just break though this little wall. He stopped slowly; he could feel something else, a shadow. He turned around, it was an orb, but not like the other orb he had seen turning grey this one was black already. It was smaller than his orb and it looked sickly and torn like someone had taken a piece of their soul and torn it off, but why would anyone do such a thing. He looked pityingly at the thing but, there was nothing else that could be done.

He turned away from the broken soul and back to his pulling. He was so close he could already feel the barrier between the two entities breaking down. He gave his link one last great pull and he was free, oh wow, he didn't think…he couldn't think…he was no longer pulling the cord the cord was pulling him. It was dragging his little orb back into itself and oh did it feel right like everything was finally back into place, but what was that thing still following him for?

The sick little piece of soul was following him, what did it think it was doing, this was _his_ body thank you _very _much. The little piece was flying faster than him now, just a little, but still, no way his body was going to accept some outside soul. Not if he had anything to say about it.

He pulled on the link that was connecting him to his body. He realized what it was, his magic, his great and wonderful magic that was coursing through that body of his. He grabbed the string and without even thinking about it he cast the shield charm. He magic was working and though it was weird he could see the air harden around his body. The soul was stopped by the shield, but Harry doubted that would be the end of it. The little black orb was now floating around the body trying to get in. At certain points he felt his magic almost give into what the orb wanted like it knew it somehow, but Harry held firm. That orb was not getting close to his body.

Harry could no longer resist the urge to join his body and didn't really want to. He let the pull of his magic bring him home. It was good; great actually, it was like the first time he got hugged by Mrs. Weasley, like going back to Hogwarts after a summer with the Dursleys. All warm and fuzzy and magical, but it was better than that, it was like getting back a piece of yourself that you didn't even know you had lost along the way. Only an instant after that was he gasping, the pain in his chest was back, but this time it was a very real, physical pain.

He was gasping again and the pain from being back in his body was almost enough to knock him out, but he held on, he knew he had to. He let himself rest for a little while and composed himself. He was lying there for at least 15 minutes before he realized that he hadn't checked on Dudley or Piers. He also still had his shield at full blast, he didn't know what to do, but he knew he couldn't take down the shield just yet the sickly soul might still be trying to get in.

Harry gathered himself and pushed of the ground, or at least tried to push off the ground, his arms and legs were weak. He got to a kneeling position and from there he managed to crawl over to the first body, it was Piers. The body was no longer shivering and didn't have any identifiers of life except for the steady rise and fall of his chest. Harry gave a heaving breath and had to stop from crying, he had never liked Piers, hadn't known anyone besides Dudley who did, but no one deserved this. He managed to gather enough will power to close Pier's eyelids and then crawled over to Dudley prepared for the worst.

It wasn't any better than Piers, the steady rise and fall of the chest, but vacant look in his eyes that have away that Dudley was no longer in there. Like Piers Harry had never really liked Dudley, but family was family and they had grown up in the same house for 10 years.

Harry held it together long enough to close Dudley's eyes and crawl over to the bush and throw up the last very small meal he had. Harry dry heaved into the bushes after he was done and lay crying on the sidewalk. It was all happening too fast; his cousin had just been kissed by Dementors in Little Wingling how likely was that to happen?

Except, Hermione had told him and Ron in 3rd year, when everyone was worried about Dementors, that they were controlled by the Ministry. Did that mean that Ministry didn't have complete control over the monsters and had so little control that some went to get a midnight snack in the middle of Surrey suburbs. Or did that mean that someone in the Ministry sent them after Harry directly? At this point Harry wasn't sure which was scarier.

"Come on, get a hold of yourself Harry, you can't let this break you. Get up." Harry spent the next 5 minutes on the ground giving his self this pep talk until he could finally move from that spot. He was very slow, but he did manage to get to his feet and stagger to the wall for support.

Harry remembered why he was shielded, he could no longer put off dealing with the sickly soul that was around him, even though Harry couldn't see it anymore he still got the feeling that it was around somewhere. Harry closed his eyes and tried to remember what he had done while in the Dementor's stomach. He thought about it for awhile and then he remembered. The pulse, or was it a pulse? It was something like a sensor; he had let out a sensor.

Harry tried to remember the feeling it gave him when without warning it happened again. His magic let out a small pulse and within a second of it happening Harry got a headache. He got an overload of information, so much that he didn't want to know. He could tell that the air had drops of moisture in it from the rain earlier that day, he could tell that the ant pile 2 feet to his right hand over 3,000 of the little buggers crawling around in it, he could tell that the bush he threw up in had a caterpillar on one of its branches. He got information that he hadn't even wanted, that he had no need for, but there it was crowding his mind waiting for him to notice it.

All of that information that he didn't want, but it did give him something that he had been looking for, the most prominent information in the whole of it, was that the sickly soul was still there. It was hovering very close to his forehead, right next to his scar. Harry thought quickly, he had no idea what to do with it or how to get rid of it. He thought back to the Dementor, it had gotten rid of its souls by eating them. Maybe Harry could do something like that, he could absorb the soul into his own, it had looked pretty sickly and small, maybe he could make it better, but it had also looked corrupted.

Black and green, the green was bright almost like an Avada Kedavra or the Slytherin green, but it was darkening, the black was corrupting it. It wasn't like the black of a night sky or dark comfort you could get from bed time, it was gross, mean like black puss that was growing and infecting everything around it. Maybe he could just get the green part, could get rid of the blackness, but how did you…before Harry could even begin to contemplate what to do his magic shot forward again.

Without control Harry felt his magic grab the piece of soul in front of him. It was ripping it, pulling it apart even more than before, Harry could feel more than see what was happening to the little soul that seemed very attracted to him. Harry was gasping again and clutching the wall for support, trying not to fall down again. He could feel it happening, almost like his magic had gotten a mind of its own. He tried to stop it, but it didn't seem to be listening to him anymore, it had to finish what it had started. Then without a second longer the soul was torn into the tiniest of pieces and his magic without giving a pause grabbed the green part and absorbed it. Harry was no longer clutching his chest or the wall, but his head. It was more information than the pulse had given him, but Harry didn't have time to look at it anymore. He cracked his eyes open to see what looked like a burst of black smoke evaporate into the air.

Harry gave himself a minute more of rest before he pushed the rest of the information to the back of his mind. There was something else important, but right now it didn't matter. He couldn't think about it anymore and didn't want to try. He still had to get back to Number 4.

Slowly Harry made his way down the street taking time to stop every few steps to get control of his body. He couldn't keep from shivering though; the cold of the night still affected him. Harry turned the corner to Privet Drive slowly and carefully, making sure not to set in any of the holes that could cause him to trip and fall, because he was sure that if he fell he wouldn't be able to get back up again.

It was only when the house was in sight did he finally stop, realizes then that he had no idea what he was going to tell his relatives. What could he possibly say? That their son was as good as dead because they had taken him in after his parents died? Uncle Vernon would probably kill him for that alone. So Harry stopped and sat on the bus stop bench that that was nearby to think.

"I could just leave, that's it, walk in quickly get my stuff and then walk back out. No need to talk to them or to ever see them again, the police would find the bodies or one of the neighbors would. No need to tell Uncle Vernon if I'm already gone…" Harry nodded to himself and sat still for awhile. He couldn't allow himself to break down yet, the night wasn't even close to being over. He would stop and crash when he could. Harry pushed the bad thoughts to the back of his mind and got back up.

Harry moved quickly to Number 4, he would move as fast as he could not look for his relative's just walk and get his trunk. He would leave without even seeing them that was for the best.

Harry opened the door; it wasn't surprising that it was still open the Dursleys almost never locked the doors anymore because Dudley stayed out at all times of night. Harry didn't look into the living room or kitchen he had no desire to see either of his relatives and didn't want to have to face them before he left.

Harry climbed the stairs carefully, he was almost back to full walking speed but he didn't want to take any chances. Harry opened his room and moved over to his secret floorboard. He grabbed what was inside and turned to where his trunk was. The Dursleys had let him keep it in his room this year as long as he promised not to do any of it in plain sight. But as he turned he realized something was wrong, the trunk was no longer there. He still had his valuables: his cloak, photo album, firebolt, and a bit of money left over from last year.

Harry got up and check in his closet, maybe his relatives had moved it so that no one would see. The closet was empty except for a few shirts. Harry decided he would check down stairs, it might be in his cupboard. As Harry carefully made his way down the stairs he realized something was wrong. The house was too still, even with the Dursleys still asleep something still felt off.

Harry made his way in front of his cupboard, but before he could open it his eye caught something in the kitchen. The door was slightly ajar and something was on the floor… it looked like…a _leg_. Harry rushed into the room forgetting about the cupboard. There on the ground was his aunt, he face permanently etched in terror. Her body was stiff and Harry knew without even touching her that she had been killed by the green curse that had been Harry's closest friend his entire life.

Harry ran to the sink and dry heaved again, there was nothing in his stomach to throw up, but he was still shocked and horrified and his body wanted him to know it. Harry backed out of the kitchen and sat on the ground, someone had killed his aunt…did that mean…Harry stood up quickly and headed to the living room, there on the couch as he feared was his Uncle's stiff body the same look of horror in his face.

Harry had to get out of there and soon. Harry rushed out the door and down the street. He couldn't stay in that house any longer, he had the only important items on him and if someone killed his aunt and uncle it was likely that they also had taken his trunk, to make it seem like he had killed his relatives and run away. Harry's mind was running at full speed now and nothing was stopping it. He thought about just going to the ministry and telling the truth of what happened tonight, but the Minister hadn't looked too happy with him after the tournament and his story was pretty unbelievable. He even considered Diagon Alley, but last time he went there were Ministry officials waiting for him as he got off the Knight Bus, which he couldn't use anyways because he didn't have a wand.

Harry was very close to just breaking down and letting the chips fall where they may, but something stopped him. He remembered someone saying to him that the best place to go when you were hurting was some place that made you feel safe. The only place that had ever made Harry feel safe was Hogwarts, but the school was closed for the summer and that meant that the wards were probably up and going full blast.

Harry thought some more and he remembered one of the other places that made him feel safe. After the incident at the end of third year the shrieking shack had been empty. During the tournament fourth year, when everyone had turned against him, Harry was looking for a place away from the rest of the school and used the shack as a hideaway for half of the year. Had even cleaned it up a bit and made parts of it livable, he could go there.

Harry sighed he still didn't have a way of getting there and then almost as a reminder his hand started cramping. He had been carrying around his valuables all night, his phoenix feather in one hand and the rest of his stuff in the other. Harry almost smiled when he saw that he had everything he need for a quick getaway, his cloak to make him invisible and his broom for flight.

Harry looked at the sky, he could already see the sun rising and the skies beginning to light up. The sky was free of clouds and the day was already warming up. It would be cold in the sky, but if he didn't take it too fast then he should be okay. Last question, where to go? Harry had a general idea of the direction to take, but no absolute knowledge just a meter off when flying long distances could make Harry end up over an ocean rather than Hogsmeade. Just as he was about to give up again his magic flared up again. He could feel a link like the one he had on his body. He could follow the link to Hogsmeade.

Harry let out a huge sigh and without giving another thought to it he threw the cloak over his shoulders and put the broom between his legs and lifted off.

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June 2nd, 1995

It was hard to remember sometimes, but Harry was still 14 and even after all of the hell he had been through in his life he still has the body of a child. He lasted pretty well the first day of flying. He flew slow and study following the link he had. He was cold at first, but then like a switch his magic helped out and he was now pretty toasty. Harry loved flying it was his safety blanket the place he could go not to think about anything and after the night he had yesterday he needed a good dose of not thinking.

After flying through one day with no problems Harry crashed on the ground for a little nights rest and got up in the morning to start again. This is when he realized that he was still in a 14 year old body, he didn't feel as if he could handle much more, but he had soldiered on. He pushed his complaints to the back of his mind and got in the skies again. He was now reaching night of his 2nd day of flight and Harry couldn't keep the grin off his face. He could see the lights of Hogsmeade and he was so close to finally getting some sleep.

His body was crashing and fast, he didn't think he could take much more, he could already feel the blackness at the edges of his vision.

Harry sighed in relief and almost crumbled to the ground in front of the shrieking shack. He slowly and carefully worked the cramps out of his legs and made his way in the house. Harry didn't give much thought to anything else around him. He walked quickly to the only bedroom in the house and fell to the bed. He didn't give another thought except to push off his shoes and curl into the middle of the bed. Then there was darkness.

-AD—

Dumbledore's eyes had lost their perpetual twinkle. The order members that tiredly made their way around the room could no longer bear to see the sadness that piled itself on their leader's shoulders. It wasn't just him, but no one could afford the time it took to feel dory for themselves. It had been a month of hell for the order and wizarding world, and it wasn't looking promising for anyone anymore.

Dumbledore turned from the room and walked to the study where the leaders of his Order were waiting for him. It had taken only a month, a _month_. Dumbledore didn't think about what had been lost in that short time, only what still could be helped.

Voldemort hadn't taken long to recover before he was back to terrorizing the wizarding world as a whole and the fact the Ministry did nothing to prepare themselves or their citizens made it easy for Voldemort's men to slip through the ranks of government. Dumbledore didn't dare think about that now, it was too far past to help.

"Now, children, is this really the best time and place to have a slapping match?" Dumbledore smiled softly at the tones of his Deputy Headmistress. Dumbledore didn't have to think twice about who was fighting in there.

"Sirius, please, fighting will get us nowhere and we have to find Harry before they do." The reasoning tones of the soft spoken werewolf floated out of the room.

Dumbledore didn't waste any more time listening and opened the door. Sirius was red faced with a wand in his hand, pointed at Severus Snape who was looking bored and emotionless with a sneer on him face. It was only Dumbledore who knew the boy well enough that could see the anger in the Potion Master's eyes.

"Oh dear, what is it this time?" Dumbledore ignored the two of them and walked between to his chair by the fireplace. Sirius put his wand down and blushed; Severus did the same without blushing. "Now that's settled let's get this started."

Minerva was in the corner next to Moody. Remus was walking Sirius over to a chair on the other side of the room. Severus was casually leaning against a wall. Molly and Arthur were holding hands and sitting at the loveseat on one side of the room. These were his closest friends in this fight and they all looked so young. They all had something to lose by fighting and they were here anyway doing what they believed was right.

"Any news on Harry?" Dumbledore directed this question at Severus, as the only person who had connections to Voldemort in the room he was the most likely to have news. It had been assumed ever since the wards had fallen yesterday that something bad had happened to the family. When the Aurors had investigated they found the Dursley's murderer and Harry's stuff gone. The _Ministry_ was now under the impression that Harry had killed his relatives and then run away. He hadn't been found though. The tracking of underage magics wasn't working on Harry and there were only 3 reasons as to why.

"No, Albus. If the Dark Lord has Potter he is keeping it a secret from everyone. He seems almost pleased that Harry hasn't been found yet. I don't think he has Potter, but he knows why Potter is missing." Severus leading against the wall after saying this. He didn't appear particularly troubled by the fact that Harry was missing, but Dumbledore knew better.

"Thank you, Severus. Does anyone else have news to report about Harry?" Albus asked.

"Hermione and Ron seem to think that the only places that Harry have been are his relative's house, Hogwarts and the Burrow." Molly added. "The Burrow has wards up to inform us if anyone enters the property, but Harry doesn't really know how to get there without our help." She looked down sadly with tears in her eyes. Arthur put his arm around her when she started to cry into his shoulder.

"Okay then, I want to encourage all of you to keep thinking about any place that Harry may go if he is free. There have been no indications that he has been taken and the Ministry doesn't have any new information. All we know is this. Early morning June 1st Harry's wand was activated using magic, shortly after that it disappeared leaving no time to trace where it was. Furthermore, it seems as if the trace signature from the wand has completely disappeared, so either Harry is in a warded area that can hide his wand or somehow the connection between Harry and his wand has been broken." At this the whole room gave a shiver. It was a terrible thing to lose a wand, like a piece of you breaking. It was the one reason that wizards and witches never let go of theirs.

"At 6:00am that morning the Aurors went to Harry's house to search for him. His relatives were found murdered with no magical signature attached and the house had been emptied of Harry's things. Later that day 3 people were found that appeared to have been kissed by Dementors: Dudley Dursley, a muggle neighbor, and a squib Arabella Figg. The Ministry has launched an investigation into the matter but nothing has been found." Dumbledore paused for a break. "Would anyone like some tea?" Most of the room answered no and Severus just glared at him. Albus conjured a nice pot and poured some.

"There have been no efforts to find someone in the Ministry responsible for the attacks on Potter, but at this point they have all but declared that the boy singlehandedly killed everyone in his family and called the Dementors to do his dirty work, but with the way things are going it will only be a matter of time before the entire place is corrupted and Voldemort takes it over." Moody said this as straight faced as possible.

"Thank you, Moody. Let's continue with the rest of this meeting." Albus sat back in his seat and took in the facts of the wizarding worlds falling.

As Albus left late that night he was stopped by two very excited looking teenage students.

"Headmaster, it's good to see you. We need to tell you something, it may be important." Hermione was clearly speaking for the both of them as Ron was nodding eagerly in the back.

"I'm sorry Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley I really don't have the time just now." Albus was turning to go when a hand grabbed the sleeve of his robe.

"Please, sir, we think we know where Harry would go." Hermione looked desperate now, the look of a child who is ignored by their parents even when they have something important to so.

"Alright Ms. Granger you have my attention." Albus knew that these two children knew Harry the best and would probably have the most insight into Harry's decision making.

"Sir, during the 4th year when the school turned against," At this point Ron blushed and looked away, "Harry often disappeared for long periods. He always wanted to get away from the spot light and he found some place that did that for him. During that time he never took me or Ron with him."

"Ms. Granger, as much as I'm enjoying this conversation I really don't have time for this." Albus stared down at the girl.

"Right, sorry sir, after we got back together we asked Harry where he had gone. He told us that he had moved into the shrieking shack for awhile and fixed the place up a little to have more privacy." Hermione looked to the ground at this point, almost relieved to have it out.

Albus nodded to himself, it would make sense for the boy to go there, and he was on his way back to Hogwarts he could check it on the way.

"Thank you, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley I will take this into consideration." Albus turned and quickly walked out the door. As soon as he was past the ward he apparated directly into the shrieking shack. He had seen it several times; he had actually helped build it for Remus when he was back in school.

Albus spent no time walking up the stairs and checking the rooms. The shack was definitely less dusty and more put together than the last time he had been in there. Just as he was about to give up he opened the door to the last room. Albus gasped, it was beautiful, and there was no other way to describe it. He had found Harry, but he had found so much more, he learned the reason that no one could him Harry's signature. Just as quickly as the happiness of having found Harry came, it left. Though the sight was beautiful it meant something bad had happened, something very bad. Albus conjured a chair and sat down beside the bed. There was nothing to do, but wait for Harry to wake up.

The golden and green sphere of magic that surrounded Harry wouldn't let anyone touch him, not until he was ready.

* * *

June 3rd, 1995

As Harry cracked his eyes open he was met with the sight of stars. It was weird considering he remembered going to bed in the shack and he was pretty sure it was the same bed he was lying on now. Harry turned his he to the side and decided that he must still be in the house, but that didn't explain….

"Oh Harry, your awake." Albus Dumbledore looked like he had been caught off guard, almost as if he had done something he shouldn't. "Do you like the ceiling?"

Harry was about to answer when he was cut off.

"No, don't answer your throat is probably very dry. You've been asleep for about 24 hours I would guess." Dumbledore conjured a glass of water and held it up to Harry's face. As Harry was drinking Dumbledore explained what he was doing. "You see, whenever you become Headmaster you get a certain amount of privileges. One of which is a book by the Founders that explains some of the magics they put on the school. These magic's range from the wards covering the school to the self cleaning that the suits of armor have to the spells which keep boys from going in girls dorms. It is the duty of every Headmaster to look over these magics, repair what has been faded or lost with time, and to add new protections or magics to the school. If I can say so my section is quite big, I have upgraded many of the odd wards and added new ones. Though I do like practicing the great magic that was invented before mine and that includes the great reflecting magic that is on the ceiling of the great hall."

"So only the Headmaster can read this book?" Harry had gathered enough of his voice back to ask the question.

"Oh yes, the book is protected from anyone who seeks to use it for their own goods rather than the goods of the school. Enough about that old thing how are you?" Dumbledore looked at Harry very seriously. He sat down in a chair beside the bed that Harry was sure hadn't been there the night before.

"I…I don't know sir, it just happened so fast and… I couldn't stop it and…" Harry gave deep heaving breaths and suddenly he was in his memories, flipping through the night like something out of a horror film that Dudley used to…used to… Dudley was…and so was…

"Harry….need…calm down….deep breaths. Focus on my voice…" Dumbledore was over him, holding him. Harry tried to forget it, but everything was coming back up refusing to be forgotten. He had almost been di-…been digested by a Dementor. "Please, Harry speak to me, tell me what happened."

"Headmaster, I tried…I really did, but Piers wouldn't leave and…I wasn't focused on him, I was distracted…what could I have." Harry was crying at this point. There was no reason to keep it in at this point. He was sobbing, burying himself into the only grandfather figure he had.

"It's okay, I know you did what you could. You did nothing wrong Harry." Dumbledore didn't seem to mind that his purple and silver robe was getting wet with Harry's tears. It wasn't the first time Harry had broken down, but it was the first time that he had done it in front of his Headmaster.

It was at least 30 minutes until either on was ready to talk again.

"Okay, now that you've gotten a little control for yourself can you tell me what happened?" Dumbledore asked softly. Harry's tears had long since dried up, but he was still feeling sadness for what had happened.

"It all started three nights ago. I went out for a walk. I had been cooped up in the house all day and even though you told me not to leave I felt just one walk around the block would do any harm." Harry breathed deep; this was when the hard part came. "I was cornered in an alley way by my cousin and a friend of his. We were talking when a chill came over us. It took me awhile to remember where I had felt it before, and by the time I remembered it was too late."

"The… the Dementors came so fast… I was preparing to do a Patronus, but I remember that my cousin and his friend were still there. I told them to run but… Piers, my cousin's friend, he grabbed my wand sir. He… he broke it. It felt horrible, sir, worse than the torture curse and it was so intense, every part of me felt like it was breaking…I couldn't…I couldn't think and by that time the Dementors had gotten so close…there was no way we could have escaped… no way." Harry paused again his mind trying to unravel what happened next.

"Harry, you said there was no escape…so how did you get out?" Dumbledore feared the answer he knew it would bring.

"I didn't." Harry gave a deep breath again.

"I couldn't think and the Dementors intensified that…did you know that a Dementor has a sort of skin on its face. You couldn't tell if you just saw the hands because they look so skeletal, but its face… it's so ugly and black and rotted." Harry sighed. "I never wanted to know this, but now I don't think I'll ever be able to forget."

Dumbledore looked really worried. His eyes weren't twinkling anymore and he looked old, really old. "Harry, what happened, my dear boy?"

"I was kissed, by a Dementor…I was…it's hard to explain. I'll tell you one thing, it bloody hurt. I thought it would be smoother than that, but it was like…getting your soul ripped from your chest." Harry gave a sober laugh. "Yeah, exactly like that."

"How did you get back?" Dumbledore looked very worried at this point.

"It's hard to explain, it's sort of fuzzy. I had a sort of consciousness, but not in the way that I would normally think. It was all about emotions in there, sadness felt like coldness, anger like heat. I can't explain it more than that. An out of body experience, I think that is what it's called, except for me it was literal. I have to say that is the worst place I have ever been and frankly I wouldn't wish that on anyone, even Death Eaters."

"Any way, I had this sort of consciousness, I couldn't see, not really, but I could sense. I guess I floated around for a bit, I don't really know how long I was in there; there was no sense of time. I eventually came across something like me. A soul I think. It was… the only words I can use is… getting digested. At that point I realized how much I had to get out of there. There wasn't really any thought involved, just a want…no, _need_ to get out of there. I followed, what I guess you could call a link, or chain, or rope, something. It was attached to me. At the time I didn't really know what it was, but I could guess, my magic or my body or both."

Dumbledore was very involved in the story. He was clutching Harry's hand and rubbing it.

"Anyway, I pulled, and I pulled and I tugged. I did it so long and so hard that something broke. A second later I was flying through the air and without a second thought, I was in my body. It was the greatest feeling at first, but then the pain hit. I don't know how long I spent there, but by the time I was up and moving the sun was already rising."

Harry paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Once I got moving, I went over to Piers and Dudley to check and see if somehow they had… I closed their eyes and started heading home. I know it was wrong just to leave them there, but there was no way I could have helped them. I moved slowly down the street, but I got there. While I was walking I decided that I would just grab my things and get out. I didn't want to have to tell my Aunt and Uncle about Dudley. Once I got in the house I headed straight to my room I did even look around much. I expect both Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia to be asleep in their beds."

"I went to my room and got my valuables out of the secret floorboard. I always put it there in the beginning of the summer in case my Uncle decides to change his mind and lock up my trunk. I took it out and was going to put it in my trunk and then leave, but quickly found that it had disappeared. I was thinking that Uncle Vernon had locked it up again somewhere so I went to go look for it. The first place I looked was the cupboard under the stairs, but before I could get there something caught my eye in the kitchen…I found Aunt Petunia first she was lying on the floor in the kitchen. Uncle Vernon was in the living room. I had no idea what happened so I…ran. As fast as I could. I had my stuff with me and at that point the only thing I was thinking of was needing get out of the house. I ran to the park near my house and sat there thinking until I decided to fly here. I think that's all, sir."

Dumbledore sat back in his seat and took a deep breath. "It's amazing that you made it out, my boy. Do you remember anything else? Something that might be important?"

Harry thought back to the sickly soul part that his magic had…his magic. "Sir, after the Dementor something weird was going on with my magic. It was like accidental magic, but not. All I had to do was something and it happened."

"Interesting, very interesting." Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Harry, may I ask if you kept your broken wand?"

Harry looked surprised for a second before checking around him. He still had his cloak nearby so the phoenix feather must be…there. "Here it is, but…" Harry was holding the feather again, but it was no longer sparking, or doing anything. It didn't even feel like it was magical, just a regular bird feather.

"It is as I thought. Harry, are you sure that you doing remember anything else from that night?" Dumbledore tried to catch Harry's eyes, but Harry looked down, he had already decided not to tell Dumbledore about the soul. Harry shook his head. "Hmm, interesting. My boy, do you know why a wand chooses the wizard?"

"Sir?" Harry asked confused.

"Yes, well, all wands have a bit of a magical beast in them. Unlike a normal animal magical beast can sense things. All have different powers, but they all can sense their surroundings and find out things about it. It might do little things like tell them where their next meal is, but it is very helpful. Even when a piece of these creatures is taken out they are still able to sense their surroundings. Inside the wood of the wand are many runes, they do many different things, but one is to amplify the sensing ability that these animals have. It also focuses this sense into finding similar personalities."

"I don't understand, sir." Harry was trying to figure out where Dumbledore was headed.

"The wand chooses the wizard, because they can tell is most able to use them. Just as ever person is different to is every animals, that's why not every unicorn hair will work for a person that has a unicorn hair wand. The wand core and the wizard have to be compatible in the deepest ways."

"Sir, then why do Voldemort and I have the same core? Aren't phoenix's supposed to be light?" Harry asked.

"Though maybe Fawks did turn out that way that wasn't how he started. All phoenixes are very spirited in their youths. Often times it takes them many century to settle down. The feather that is in Voldemort's wand was taken from Fawks at a very young age, for a phoenix, it has been held by Ollivanders for over 6 centuries. The one that was in your wand is much newer. It was only taken from Fawks in the last 60 or so years. At this point Fawks is over millennia old, he has settled quite a bit. And as much as I hate to admit it, you and Voldemort do share some qualities that a phoenix who place in high regard. You are both stubborn and determined, you will not stop till you reach your goal and you both have the natural ability to draw people to you and lead them."

Dumbledore stopped to let this sink in, and then smiled a little bit.

"You both also have the uncanny ability to survive certain death." Dumbledore finished.

"Sir, this still doesn't explain what's wrong with my feather." Harry stated.

"Right, right, sorry my boy, sometimes this old mind of mine likes to go off on tangents. To understand what happened to your feather I can only give my best guess. Several things must have happened for you to be able to survive a Dementors kiss. You have very strong magic for your age Harry. Even before the Dementors kiss happened, but you also have one of the strangest connects to it that I've ever seen. When wizarding children are very young their magic id very attached to them, what they are thinking or feeling. In essence their magic is attached to their soul. This is why accidental magic is so common; the magic can read what the child wants or needs and gets it for them. As children grow up the magic separates from the soul, it is a slow process, but it allows for control over your powers. The reason wizarding schools start at 11 is because the children have grown up enough to allow for control over their powers." Dumbledore paused to let this sink in then continued.

"You, Harry, are unlike any other student I have because you still have that connection. Your soul is very much attached to your magic, like something has stopped it from progressing its separation. I would guess it has to do with the killing curse at a year old. We still don't know how that affected you. This is part of the reason you were able to escape from the Dementor's grip. Your connection to your magic is probably the link you saw. This isn't the only reason though." Dumbledore gave Harry a second.

"What are the other reasons, sir?" Harry asked.

"When you were getting approached by the Dementor I can guess what you were thinking: the need to escape to get free. Your magic read your intent and wanted to help, but didn't know how. You said you were holding your wand at the time?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, but it was broken at that point there was nothing I could do. I took the feather out of the broken wand and I held it in my hand." Harry answered.

"Yes, of course, I would guess that in your magic's search to escape it focused on your wand. Phoenix magic is very comforting. It likely thought that the magic could protect you better if it was in you. That's what happened to your feather Harry, you absorbed it. Not on purpose of course, that would be incredibly hard, but somehow your magic figured out the best way to help you. I would guess that it what allowed you to sense the link while in the Dementors body. That ability to sense your surroundings, the advantage that magical animals have that muggle ones don't." It was Harry's turn to look gob smacked.

"My magic…absorbed the magic of my phoenix feather?" Harry asked slowly.

"Again, this is only a guess, a good one, but still just a guess. If that was the only thing that happened because of this….enough. I think we can finish this conservation once we get you to headquarters. Your friends and godfather have been very worried about you Harry. I fear you will have to deal with a lot of hugging when you get there." Dumbledore stood up and banished the conjured chair.

Harry moved to the side of the bed.

"Sir, did you stay here the entire time I was sleeping?" Harry asked.

"Well, I didn't get here until several hours after you, my boy." Dumbledore said.

"I mean, once you knew I was here, why didn't you leave and get one of my friends to come look over me?" Harry asked softly.

He was surprised when Dumbledore grabbed his chin and forced him to look up.

"Harry Potter, never forget that you are my responsibility, as my student and as your guardian. It's my duty to protect you and I have to admit to doing a terrible job of it. I have let too much slip by me and what happened to you under my watch has been inexcusable. When you disappeared from Privet Drive I feared the worse, if you hadn't been found… and when I found you lying safely and breathing on that bed. I could not find it in my most considerable power to let you go. You are safest with me nearby and I could not lose you so soon after finding you again." Dumbledore gave him a smile and Harry found he let out a breath of satisfaction, everything was right again.

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling.

* * *

A.N: YEY! A new story. I know it has been awhile since I have uploaded to a story and I am sorry for that. I hope that you like what I have written. I would consider it the largest chapter I have ever written for a story. A lot is happening and if it's going too fast I need someone to tell me.

This is very weird for me, a new story... I'm not used to writting very much so I think I deserve a pat on the back for writing so much. You can give me a pat on the back, lucky you, see that green button. |

V

Please Review! I am begging you. If you want me to write more, if you want to know what happens next you have to _tell me_. I know this is a weird concept to you people, but please. My life blood and writing ability depends on reviews. However, for all of you people that want to be party poopers and flame...:'( You make me sad, and that means I won't write. I hate flames so please don't be mean.

I am not the best at grammar and spelling though I do my best. I have never had a beta or anyone that checks my grammar so if you send me a message pointing out some of my mistakes I will not take offence. I will probably try and fix all the mistakes that you find.

I don't know yet what will happen in this story, so that means I don't know if Harry or anyone else will be in a romance, don't ask. Harry will be going to a different school and he will have a different name. I don't plan on forgetting the canon characters and many of them will have a major part of the story. I don't plan on bashing any characters, but I will change around some of the character's view points. I will try and make this as realistic as possible and will be making the Wizarding War into a real war.

Please try to understand, I know that this isn't an orignal story and that there are many others like it out there. I like this idea though, and will be trying to make it my own. I try an explain what is going on, but if you have any questions please ask.

Thank you for reading and please REVIEW,

~Rain


	2. For the Greater Good

**Author's Note:**

This is IMPORTANT please read. This story is by no means the most original story in the world. There have been many stories focused around Harry in a New School with a New Name and a New Life. I will make it my own and in no way will I purposefully try to plagiarize anyone else's work.

If you like this story than I really encourage you to find and read Bloody Skies by Toki Mirage and A Second Chance at Life by Miranda Fairgold. There are others out there that are also well written but these are the two best that I have found.

Warnings: There may or may not be slash or any romance at all. There will be violence and gore. I will add warnings when they come up.

I can almost guaranty that someone will not like this story. That is okay with me I could care less about what you like. This is my story and I will do what I want with it.

This story is cannon until the summer after 4th year. I will be messing with the time line a bit and I still include horcruxes.

Please Review, it inspires us writers, but if you are just going to flame then you can shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

Recap: Harry has once again done the impossible and survived a Dementor's kiss. He escaped, but his cousin didn't. He went home to find that sometime during the night his relatives had been murdered. He escapes to the shrieking shack at Hogwarts. He is found by Dumbledore.

Disclaimer: I don't own the work of J.K. Rowling and never will.

* * *

**Chapter 2: For the Greater Good

* * *

**

June 4th, 1995

As Harry entered Grimmauld Place for the first time he could only ask himself what kind of person would live there if given a choice?

"Harry!" The next second Harry was mobbed by the two best friends he had ever had.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked after backing away from him. But before he could answer he was cut off again. "No, never mind, we know where you've been. How have you been? Wait; don't answer that if you don't want to. I am so sorry about your relatives."

"Good riddance to bad rubbish." Ron mumbled under his breath.

"Ron!" Hermione slapped the back of his head. "Now is not the time to pass judgments on people who are dead. Don't be crass." Hermione turned to Harry again and before he could say anything Hermione started tearing up.

"Oh, Hermione." Harry grabbed his friend into a hug. "I'm fine, see completely whole." Hermione only let a few tears escape before controlling herself again.

"It's so good to see y…"

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley had found Harry. Harry was suddenly crushed into the bosom of mother Weasley. "Oh you poor dear, you look famished." Before Harry could get a word in edgewise he was dragged to the kitchen.

The table in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place was covered in enough food to fill a platoon of soldiers.

"I didn't know what to make you so I decided to make all of your favorites." Mrs. Weasley sat Harry down at the head of the table and before he could disagree she was already gone.

"Ahhh, poor Harry-kins is back alive…"

"… from the great unknown and…"

"…now will die from an over…"

"… affectionate mother shoveling food down his mouth." The Weasley twins hadn't changed at all from the last time Harry had seen them.

"What's that smell you two?" Harry asked the first thing he has said since he got there.

"Harry, Harry, Harry, everyone knows…"

"…invention is 1% inspiration and…"

"…99% perspiration." They both grinned and left with a huge crack. Harry could hear where they landed because of Mrs. Weasley's shout of, 'WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU BOYS…'

"They got their apparition license 2 days ago and haven't stopped since." Ron told him as he sat down to the right of Harry. "Now are you going to eat all of this or can I have some?"

"Please, be my guest." Harry nodded to the table. "Do you know where the Headmaster went?" Harry asked Hermione.

"He's in one of the top secret Order meetings. There must be a lot going on, there seems to be a new problem popping up every single day." Hermione looked sadly into her plate.

"Hermione, did something happen?" Harry asked.

"Nothing as bad as what happened to you, but my family…" Hermione looked at Harry sadly. "A lot has changed since the end of the school year Harry. It has been a long month."

Before anything else could be said the door opened again.

"Harry." Without another word Sirius grabbed Harry out of his seat and hugged him like he had come back from the dead. "Thank Merlin you're alright. I wanted to go out searching for you myself, but the Headmaster wouldn't let me."

"That's because they could've caught you and we would suddenly be in a lot more trouble." Remus had entered the room after Sirius and hugged Harry as well. "It is good to see you."

"Yes, let's rejoice, the golden boy has been found, we are saved." Severus Snape billowed in the kitchen followed by the Headmaster.

"Severus, my boy, there is no need for that, we are all very happy that Harry is back with us and safe. Though we could haven here last night I wanted Harry to get some more rest before this journey." Dumbledore glided into the room as only he could do. "Harry, are you prepared to finish the conversation that we were having earlier?" Dumbledore looked kindly on the group that was assembled before him.

"Yes, Headmaster, whenever you are ready." Harry answered back.

"Okay, children time to go." Mrs. Weasley was pushing Ron and Hermione out the door.

"Mom, Harry's just going to tell us once we are done here. Come on." Ron whined.

"It wouldn't be efficient to have to explain it twice." Hermione logically stated.

"Molly, I believe we shall make an exception to the rule if just this once. Everyone should hear this. If that's okay with you Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry nodded. "That's fine; they are going to hear it anyway. Should I just…"

"Start from the beginning Harry." Dumbledore spoke softly. People moved around the room getting comfortable. Sometime during the conversation the other members of the inner group had arrived.

"It all started that night; I went out for a walk…" Harry continued until he had explained the entire thing over again. He was interrupted a few times for questions, but Dumbledore saved him from having to answer any of them.

"That's how I got to the shrieking shack. I feel asleep as soon as my head hit the pillows so I couldn't tell you when Dumbledore arrived or how long I was out. I lost track of time while flying.

"Thank you, Harry." Dumbledore nodded to Harry. "Now I don't think I can put it off any longer. Harry something else happened to your magic that night. Though it might have saved you."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard of Magical Maturity?" Dumbledore asked.

As Harry was shaking his head he heard Hermione gasp.

"Headmaster, you can't honestly think that Potter has gone through his?" Snape asked snidely.

"Yes, I think so. For those of us who do not know, Ms. Granger what is it?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, it is essentially a large boost in magical power that wizards get at some point in their lives. It is the belief of the Ministry of Magic that reaching your Magical Maturity means that you are a fully functioning member of society and can vote. It happens naturally after a wizard or witch has stopped developing around the age of 50. "She paused to let this sink in. "Wizards and witches do not grow in power until they reach maturity. It is believed that everyone has a set amount of magic at birth. As we grow we gain control over this magic and start honing it. By the time that magical majority hits the magic is already fixed in strengths and weakness and so it starts growing. Once magical maturity has been hit the amount of magic that we as wizards and witches have never stops growing and because of our magic wizards and witches can live to be centuries old. The oldest wizard alive naturally is close to 600."

"But if that's the case then why did you say that Harry had hit his?" Ron asked.

"Well, there are two ways that someone can reach Magical Maturity. The first is naturally at an age around 50 though it differs for each person. The second is a near death experience or great emotional upheaval. The later you are in life the more likely that this near death experience will cause a magical maturity. The earliest wizard on record is Headmaster Dumbledore who had is at 31, but it is thought that Merlin had has in his 20s. Though, many magical parents will try and induce a magical maturity for a thought magically weak child, this has never worked. The magic is too closely bonded with a child for Magical Maturity to occur."

"Thank you Ms, Granger. A straight from the text book answer. To answer your questions, yes, I do believe that Harry has Magically Matured, though I don't think it was because of this single incident. Throughout his years so far at Hogwarts Mr. Potter has had many near death experiences: the Philosophers Stone, the Basilisk, falling off his broom. The Dementors affect on him. Harry has been through so much and I fear this has caused his magic to react. The reason neither the Ministry nor us could find Harry is that his magic has changed completely from the magic we once knew. Harry has reached his Maturity. This unfortunately makes Harry a danger to himself and to others." Dumbledore ended solemnly.

"Sir?" Harry looked up alarmed.

"Because of Harry's unique relationship to his magic we are all in danger. His magic will not stop from reacting to Harry's wants, anything and everything. Right now even, Harry is scared and nervous and you can see the shield that is already simmering to the surface. This will not stop at Defense. I encourage everyone to be very careful to what they say. Once Harry gets angry his magic will react in the one way it knows how, it will attack what it views to be a threat." Dumbledore stopped.

Harry was gapping now and trying not to curl into his self. He didn't want to hurt anymore. Before he could do anything else he felt a squeeze, like a hug, but softer. His magic was reacting to his needs just like Dumbledore said. He needed a hug and that's what he got.

"Is there anything we can do to prevent this?" Moody asked gruffly.

"Of course, but none that do not cause personal damage. There is a potion that I believe to be the safest bet, but it can only be taken once every 2 days otherwise it can have permanent and harmful effects on its users. It dulls the emotions of the person taking it for 4 hours. This will be helpful until Harry learns some more control, which leads me to the second bit of bad news that I have. Harry can no longer attend Hogwarts." Dumbledore stated.

"What?" The majority of the people in the room almost shouted the question at him.

"Harry can no longer attend Hogwarts. His magic is now simply too strong. Some of our teachers at the school haven't hit their magical maturity there is no way that I could allow a danger to the school to walk around with other students that he has emotions about. One fight with Mr. Malfoy and I would have to explain to his father why his son is currently in the hospital wing fatally wounded. I will not be taking the chance and even with the potion, Mr. Potter is very emotional.

"Sir, don't I get a say in this?" Harry asked. Dumbledore for the first time in the conversation looked at Harry.

"I'm sorry Harry, as much as I want you back at Hogwarts it is simply too much of a risk." The Headmaster explained.

"So what are you going to do with me?" Harry asked softly, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Oh dear, I think you have the wrong impression, we aren't going to just lock you up somewhere and forget about you. You will be going to school just not Hogwarts. While you were sleeping I was trying to think of the different school that could help someone in your unique position. The only school I could think of with the proper resources and teachers to help you was Iskola Preparatory Academy."

"Headmaster, you can't be serious." Molly Weasley interrupted. "He is much too young for a school like that."

"I would normally agree with you Molly. Children should get as much childhood as they can handle. They grow up too fast anyway, but this time I fear we would both be wrong. Voldemort is growing in strength much faster than we can damage him. It won't be long before the children are dragged into this fight and the last person who should be unprepared is Harry." Dumbledore gave a nod.

"Excuse me, but I haven't heard of Iskola before, what is it?" Hermione asked. Everyone looked at her in shock, something Hermione didn't know?

"Right, of course, Iskola is an academy for all magical beings. Its slogan is: 'instruo pro pessimus' or in a rough translation 'prepare for the worst'. It is the academy that runs off of preparing for everyday life, or as everyday as a magical being could get. It covers the basics to the masteries. The school itself is very competitive. The people that have graduated its halls have gone off to change the world and it is very protective of its members. No one knows where the Academy is except for the people that go there. If you are expelled before you graduate you lose all of the information that you gained in the school. So if you go for 4 years and then are expelled then you will lose 4 years of your memories."

"This sounds like a very tough school. Why do you think Harry should go there?" Sirius asked.

"Iskola has one thing that many other schools do not. It has teachers that are hundreds sometimes thousands of years old. These people are massively powerful they would be able to get rid of any problem that Harry runs into. They would be able to teach him control in a way that no one here could. It will be difficult I am sure, the main problem that Harry will face there, is the fact that Humans are a minority. Most young witches and wizards don't have the magical strength to compete with other magical beings, but Harry will not have that problem. Of course, Harry is also a year younger than most of the incoming freshmen, this might be a problem. I still haven't heard back from their Headmistress." Dumbledore stopped and looked at the group of stunned adults and children.

"I think that is enough for the night, we will continue this conversation tomorrow and set up a schedule that will help Harry prepare for his new school. Thank you all." Dumbledore let the session end. "Harry could you stay behind."

The rest of the room filed out. Dumbledore put up anti-eavesdropping wards before he continued.

"Harry, I know this is a lot to take in are you okay?" Dumbledore kneeled in front of Harry's chair.

"Honestly, Headmaster, I don't know. Everything is just happening so far. It's like I still haven't stopped to breathe." Harry took a deep breath in at this point. "I feel overwhelmed I guess." Harry looked up at Dumbledore. "Are you sure I can't go back to Hogwarts?"

"Harry, I would like nothing more than to bring you there right now and lock you there until the war is over. It is a feeling I have to squash for the greater good. I know it is hard to believe right now, but one day you may thank me for this change, when you start fighting Voldemort I want you to be as strong as you possibly can be." Dumbledore answered.

"Who says I want to battle Voldemort?"

"Don't you?" Dumbledore asked knowingly.

"Yes, but how do I possibility stand a chance. He has 70 years of experience on me." Harry asked.

"Harry, you are not in this alone. You are surrounded by people who believe in you and want you to win. That will stand by you no matter the outcome." Dumbledore told him seriously.

"Sir, how do I survive this school?" Harry asked.

"That is where we come in. We will not be able to teach you complete control, but we can help. You will go through some training this summer. It will be hard and fast and hopefully it will get you where you will need to be by the time school starts. Now Harry, there are a lot of people out there waiting for you, but you don't need to deal with them yet. I will leave the wards in this room and the next, which is a study with some very comfortable couches. I will leave and tell them not to bother you until you come out. Take all the time you need. I'm sure they will tell you when dinner is." Dumbledore stood up and smiled a little.

"Thank you, sir." Harry said.

"You're welcome." Dumbledore nodded to Harry and glided out of the room.

-SS-

Severus Snape was not having a good day. First he was called back to Headquarters by the old coot, because someone had found Potter and they needed to have a meeting. Then he spent 3 hours listening to Order members whine about when Harry bloody Potter was showing up. When he finally got there they had another meeting in which Dumbledore kindly informed all of them that the freaking golden boy had is Magical Maturity, something that Severus hadn't even gone through yet.

Severus turned and continued pacing up and down the rug in the mutts family manor. It made Severus smirk to think about the family ancestors rolling in their graves about how the house was being used.

He turned when the door opened and the old coot in question walked through it.

"Headmaster, I don't know what you are thinking; because you must be going senile if you think that weak arrogant little boy could survive even a month in Iskola."

"Now Severus, that is a little harsh. You are jumping to conclusions about Harry again. He is not his father Severus."Dumbledore answered and sat at the chair in front of the fireplace, leaving Snape to continue pacing.

"I know he isn't his father Dumbledore, I know because he is a boy and you sending him to that school could kill him. Even wizards who have all of their years of schooling can be destroyed by that school. It's not like going to any other school in the world. It's like a university filled with competitive, mean, arrogant, magical beings that know you won't be a threat until you hit Magical Maturity and they will eat at him if they consider him weak." Severus was almost shouting at this point.

"Severus, you have a unique perspective on this, as you went for a year, but you must now it is the only place we can send him." Dumbledore said looking older than he had all day.

"I was lucky, Albus, _lucky_. I quit instead of get expelled. They allowed me to keep my memories of the classes just because my potions teacher liked me so much. I almost died 4 times at that school because of the classes and the other students and I had already graduated from Hogwarts. You can't think I would condone sending a 14 year old who has had traumatic experiences follow him around to that school." Severus sat down exhausted.

"Severus, my boy, I agree on many accounts Harry is not ready for a school like this, but unfortunately I have no choice. Harry's magic will only get worse as time goes on. He is still in shock which means he is not reacting to statements as emotionally as he is going to when he gets his feet back. He is a danger now and if you haven't forgotten he is also a fugitive from the Ministry of Magic. He doesn't know what is going on out there; just how many people are dying and I can't find it in me to tell him yet. Half of the wizarding world sees him as a savior and the other half as a traitor. I couldn't take him back to Hogwarts even if I wanted to."

"There is something else about Iskola that makes it uniquely qualified to grant Harry schooling. No one knows where it is except the people who go there, have graduated from there, or teach there. All of those people are too strong for the ministry to bully into finding him. As much as I hate it. It is the one place in this world that is protected from Voldemort and I only want to protect him." Dumbledore now looked his age. Like 100 years had come crashing on his shoulders in a matter of minutes.

"That is why I must ask something of you that I know you will not like." Dumbledore looked in Severus eyes again. "I need you to teach Harry Occlumency."

"Albus, you cannot be serious. He is too young for that. The mind too chaotic." Snape looked at Dumbledore shocked. It could have some serious side effects on Potter if they weren't careful. "Why are you asking me to do this?"

"Severus, for Harry to survive Iskola several things are going to need to happen. Harry will need to go through a training regiment these 2 months that will exhaust and challenge him. I have to make sure he can protect himself. One of the most coveted abilities in Iskola is Occlumency. All of his school mates will have some training if not a mastery. I cannot let him go into that snake pit unprepared even if he can talk to snakes. Do you understand?" Dumbledore asked his eyes hard.

Severus started at the Headmaster for a long time. He thought over the advantages and disadvantages. "Fine, Headmaster, but he must take the potion before entering these sessions. It can be very trying to have someone you don't like looking through your memories. I will not be beat up on by that boy just because he loses control of his emotions. Do we understand each other?"

Dumbledore nodded and stood up back to his old self again. "I will tell you tomorrow when you will be required for teaching. Thank you, my boy for your understanding." He glided out of the room in a way that made Severus grind his teeth.

* * *

_June 5th, 1995_

Harry woke early in the morning. He had slept enough in the past few days to last a month. He walked through Grimmauld place and tried not to touch anything that looked like it could eat him. As reached the kitchen he heard voices talking and stopped to listen.

"Arthur, I don't know what to do. I feel like I should try to write him again, but I don't want to endanger anyone." Molly Weasley sounded tired and sad.

"I know, dear, but he has made his is own choices and if he wants the Ministry over his family then we have to abide by that." Harry realized that he never heard Arthur Weasley talk that much in meetings or at all.

"How can I Arthur, he is still my child even after all the mistakes he has made. How could I reject him from this family? That is not what type of people we are." Mrs. Weasley said.

"We will always love Percy and I know that he knows that. When and if he is ever ready to come back we will welcome him with open arms, but until he realizes that he doesn't always know what is best for this family…" Arthur answered back, Harry didn't hear Mrs. Weasley reply, but did hear the sound of tears being shed. Harry left quickly to give them some time alone.

He spent the next few hours wandering around the manor looking into the rooms and trying to figure out where everything was. He eventually stopped when he came upon the library. He spent an hour looking through the books and picking out the ones he found interesting. It was nearing noon when someone burst through the door.

"There you are Harry; we've been looking for you all morning. What you reading, mate?" Ron asked.

"A Defense Against the Dark Arts book. It's very interesting, mostly focusing on magical beings that were a threat to wizards. Did you know that there are 2 kinds of vampires?" Harry asked. He was very absorbed in the book. It was nearing 4 centuries old so the information it had was very out of date, but Harry got the feeling that there weren't many people printing books about defeating vampires nowadays.

"Oh no, not another one." Ron jokingly put his hand on Harry's forehead to read the temperature. "Don't turn on me, mate, leave the books behind." Ron and Harry both laughed at the joke. "But in all seriousness, mum made her famous biscuits for after lunch and they smell delicious, but she won't let anyone touch them until you eat. Come on."

Harry grabbed his book and followed Ron down stairs, or more like was dragged down the stairs. You would think he was half starved from the amount of food that was on his mind.

"Oh, Harry dear, sit, sit, and the food is hot and waiting." Molly Weasley was bustling around the kitchen as usual.

After lunch everyone in the house came down for a meeting with Dumbledore.

"Hello everyone, I'm glad to see you all well fed and watered. I would like to thank everyone for being on time I know we are all very busy. You were all here at the meeting last night and I think it is time to finish the conversation. Harry is not going back to Hogwarts and the school that his is going to is very advanced for his age. Most of the wizards or witches that go there do it as a post-schooling mastery program. It is very tough and the majority of the students there will not be human. Harry needs to be prepared for this journey and I can think of no people better to help Harry than everyone in front of me. We will have a lot to teach in a short amount of time, but I want him fully prepared for this journey. Are we agreed?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes sir." The group answered back.

"I have thought about this for a bit of time and I think the easiest and quickest way we can get this done is through the time turner. I have set up a schedule that I think will help. The classes will mostly be 2 hours long, but if we feel like he needs more time, than we will work it out." Dumbledore pulled sheets of paper out of his robe and passed them around.

_**Monday – Wednesday - Friday**_

_8:00am-10:00am: Transfiguration with Nymphadora Tonks_

_8:00am-10:00am: Charms with Molly Weasley_

_10:00am-12:00pm: Defense with Remus Lupin_

_10:00am-12:00pm: Offense with Alastor Moody_

_12:00pm-1:00pm: Lunch_

_1:00pm–3:00pm: History of Magic and Magical Beings with Remus Lupin_

_1:00pm-3:00pm: Etiquette with Sirius Black_

_3:00pm-7:00pm: Occlumency with Severus Snape_

_**Tuesday - Thursday**_

_8:00am-10:00am: Magical Theory with Remus Lupin_

_8:00am-10:00am: Magical Control with Albus Dumbledore or Minerva McGonagall _

_10:00am-12:00pm: Defense with Remus Lupin_

_10:00am-12:00pm: Offense with Alastor Moody_

_12:00pm-1:00pm: Lunch_

_1:00pm–3:00pm: Potions with Sirius Black_

_1:00pm-3:00pm: Elective with _

_3:00pm-7:00pm: Study time_

"This is a very packed schedule and it will take awhile to get used to it. Does anyone have any questions?" Dumbledore asked after he passed them out.

"What is Occlumency?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes, Occlumency is the study of protecting your mind from others. It is a very small field of people who study it, but can be very useful in an environment like the one you are going to, that is filled with creatures that can read your mind by just walking past you." Dumbledore added.

Harry's face suddenly paled.

"Professor Snape will be teaching that to you Harry and I expect you to be on your best behavior and try not to start any fights. Understand?"

"Yes, sir. What about my elective?" Harry asked.

"That is up to you Harry. Is there always something you thought about trying? I guaranty that there is a person here who can help you." Dumbledore answered.

"Well, I have always wanted to try Ancient Runes, can I do that?" Harry asked.

"Of course, I believe that Arthur is well versed in those." Dumbledore looked to Arthur who nodded. "Well, now that the schedule is settled I think we all should have one more day off before we start this. I want to thank everyone who volunteered to help. Harry, I now give this to use. Use it well." With those sage words he handed Harry the time turner.

Harry held it for several minutes then put it on and hid the chain and turner underneath his shirt.

"Sir, I've been meaning to ask you, what has been going on in the wizarding world? How is everyone doing?" Harry asked. The room fell silent and looked to Dumbledore whose face looked sad.

"Harry, I don't want you to worry over this just yet. We have been able to hold off Voldemort's plans before you were born and we are continuing to do so." Dumbledore stood up and stepped out of the room before Harry could ask any questions.

Harry stood angrily and planned to follow Dumbledore out when all the glassware in the kitchen shattered. The rest of the room didn't have time to cover their selves from the blast except for Moody who looked quite comfortable in his shield.

"Did I…did I do that?" Harry asked softly.

"Potter, only you would be dumb enough to ask a question to which you already know the answer. There is a reason that all of these highly trained wards have to focus their attention on training you not to blow everyone up." Severus Snape stalked into the room with a grace that always looked out of place on his form.

"Harry dear, don't worry about it, it will be fixed with just a…" Molly paused and swished her wand a bit, "….flick of the wrist." The shards of glass that were covering the floor were pulled away and repaired and sent flying back to their cupboard.

"Now that someone has fixed Potter's mess again." Snape drew the attention back to himself. He pulled 2 items from his robe, one was a giant book and the second was potions vial. "Potter, you will have Occlumency with me in 2 days if you haven't read at least three quarters of the book then don't bother to come. The potion is also yours; it has 2 doses in it take one before every class period with me. This is important, DO NOT take the second dose in the vial unless it is an EMERGENCY. If you have lost such a control on your magic that you fear you are going to blow up half of Britain, then and ONLY then can you take it. Surely even a dunderhead such as you can follow such easy instructions." Snape turned on a heel and left the room in a steady pace.

"What a greasy git." Ron Weasley still had the timing of a schizophrenic off his meds.

"Ronald Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley did not look pleased at his youngest son just then.

"Well said." Sirius Black might be worse though.

"SIRIUS BLACK! You are supposed to be a role model to these kids." Molly looked angry then. Sirius took one look at her then winked at the kids and left the kitchen at the run.

The rest of the room burst into laughter at the antics of the two. The commotion had the added side effect of making Harry forget about what he was asking Dumbledore.

Harry laughed loudly along with the rest, his magic seemed to forget his earlier anger as well, and it hugged close to him again. The spent several minutes in there laughing before Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed to library and sat down.

"So Harry, what's the new book?" Hermione asked pulling out the stack of books that she had slowly been working her way through since the beginning of summer.

"Oh right, I better get started on it, don't want Snape thinking I'm any lazier than he already does. It's called _The Majestic Art of Magic for the Mind_ by Lord Farnswell Bones III, a little pretentious don't you think?" Harry laughed at it and handed the book to Hermione to look over.

"It's apparently the bestselling book about teach your child to protect his mind from outside forces." Hermione looked interested.

"Bloody hell, 'Mione, you really are a walking encyclopedia, where did you read that?" Ron asked mockingly.

She sneered and showed him the first sentence of the book's foreword. Harry started laughing at the both of them. He had missed them so much. With them, if only for a few minutes he could forget about his situation.

"I missed you guys." Harry looked somber now. He was looking into his lap and wringing his hands. Ron shared a glance with Hermione.

"We missed you too, mate. It's been a long month without you." Ron said. Harry looked up confused, but just as he was about to ask the question Hermione shoved the book back into his hands.

"Alright, enough chit-chat we'll talk more later, right now I want you to read that book, cover to cover, and don't you dare complain about how boring it is. Understand?" Hermione glared at the both of them until Harry opened the book and started reading.

Ron was snickering at Harry's situations until Hermione pulled out another book and shoved it into his hands.

"Whatzit, a book, who the hell is Sun Tzu and why did you give me an Art book?" Ron looked confused at the faded cover of the book. In worn letters it spelled out _The Art of War_.

"Ron, that book is one of the most well known in the muggle world. You will sit and read it and contemplate just how much you underestimated muggles." Hermione sat down at this point and opened her own book, ending the discussion.

* * *

_June 6th, 1995_

Tuesday was the official start of Harry's lessons and he couldn't wait until something actually happened. The first session he had was with Professor Dumbledore and all they had done was sit in a room and try to meditate, the key word was _try_ because Harry hadn't actually succeeded, but had gotten bored for sitting in one place for two long. Harry turned back his time turner 2 hours and entered the room across the hall.

Remus Lupin looked calm and composed as he sat in the chair behind the desk. He was only and official teacher for one year, but Harry got the feel that he was experienced in this.

"Harry, good, I hope everything went well in your first class?" Harry shrugged and sat down in a chair behind a desk and was surprised when a notebook and pen appeared in front of him. "Right, I expect you will be taking a lot of notes in this class, which means you will need something to write in. I always felt that the muggles got it better in this respect so I got you a few notebooks for your classes and a pencil that they use to write with. Now let's get started. The origin of magic as been philosophized about since the Ancient Greeks…"

It was 2 hours later when Harry was still trying to get his brain to stop slipping that they finally stopped. You wouldn't notice it though, because sometime in the last few minutes Harry had gotten out of his seat and changed into muggle clothing without even realizing it. Remus was that good at connecting classes Harry didn't even notice the change into Defense class.

"Now Harry, this is one of the 2 classes you will have every day of the week. Defense is the most important thing when going to a school like yours. It isn't just about making sure you are safe, but making sure that everyone else knows they can't touch you. I am specially qualified for this particular class because I am something that no one else is and can partially prepare you for what you will encounter at your new school. There are many magical races in the world, many more that we can even count. Cross-breeding is a huge problem in magical beings because magic allows two creatures that would not normally co-exist happily to have offspring. There can be any number of specific species that are slightly different from one another."

"I am a werewolf. I'm sure you will meet a good amount of them at your school. I have advanced senses and strength. I heal faster and sleep less than humans. Werewolves or any sort of were-creatures will have these abilities and other traits that are associated with the creature they were spawned from. Were-creatures are not to be confused with human-hybrids, which are at least part human. There are two types of werewolves, born and infected. It might seem odd, but an infected werewolf is actually more powerful than a born one, but the give up the control they have on the full moon to get this power. If there is a were-creature at your school they will probably be infected with quite a bit of control. You will learn more about all of these creatures in History class. This defense class will have many different focuses, but the one are care about the most is getting you protected from other species so we will spend a lot of time on that and on wards. Got it?" Harry nodded still trying to let this information settle before Remus started showing him weaknesses on a werewolf body.

It was then that Harry realized he was going to love these classes.

Harry had fun in Defense, though was tired. That didn't stop Moody from throwing a curse at him the second he saw him. Harry dove the side to get out of the way. He made it, but barely. He was panting on the floor when Moody walked over to him and kicked him in the stomach.

"Get up; we don't have time for your lolly-gagging." He backed away and let Harry get to his feet. When he did he was hit was a stinging hex in the side. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Harry's magic was swirling around him now, wanting to get revenge, but as soon as it tried Moody danced out of the way. It was amazing how limber he was for only having one leg. Harry didn't get to think much after that, just a whole lot of moving.

It was thirty minutes into the class that whoever torn out Moody's eye should be tortured for days on end, because it wasn't a disadvantage to the old auror, but an advantage. It meant that he could literally see through the back of his head.

It was an hour into the class that Harry decided that the person who cut off Moody's leg should be put to death, because after getting hit in the chest with that wooden leg 5 times he was pretty sure he had a broken rib somewhere.

It was the 31st time Harry hit the floor, which had been cushioned for this class, that he decided that Moody must have cut off his own leg and ripped out his eye purely for the advantages he got. He stopped looking at the clock because it just distracted him, he needed every ounce of concentration he had, and it made him sad because time was moving slower than a snail's pace.

It was then that Harry decided he was going to hate these classes.

Harry moved tenderly into the kitchen and stopped in the doorway staring in amazement at the sight before him.

Ronald Weasley, the first friend he had his age at Hogwarts, was doing the one thing he swore never to do. He was ignoring food for a book. Hermione looked just about as amazed as he was, but smiled smugly at the fact she had gotten him the book. Harry went up and felt Ron's forehead.

"Ron, mate, you're scaring me. Do you feel alright? Need to lie down? Shovel food down your throat?" Harry asked in all seriousness. Ron slapped the hand away and turned the page of the book.

"It's amazing; this book is the most interesting I've ever read. It speaks to me. Maybe muggles are better than wizards." Ron looked dazed, but still absorbed in _The Art of War_.

"Gees, 'Mione did you have to break Ron, we are going to need him eventually." Harry sat down tenderly and piled food onto his plate.

"It's not my fault that he just realized there is good literature in the world." Hermione huffed and filled up her own plate. "So how were your first classes?"

"Exhausting, I'm pretty sure that Moody teaching anyone should be illegal in any country. I will have bruises for days and that was after he healed the most severe." Harry moaned into his hands. "Just two more classes and I will be in the library studying for the rest of the day. Remus and Dumbledore assigned work, at least Moody didn't." He finished eating and then stood up and told his friends he would see them in 2 hours in the library.

Harry's next class was the one he was most worried about, but turned out to be really fun. Sirius was going to be a Potion's Master before he was sent to Azkaban. He had all of the qualifications, but hadn't gotten it because he was too focused on being and auror at the time to focus on research. He was relaxed in the lab and taught that skill to Harry. Harry was sure that he learned more in those 2 hours than he ever learned with Snape.

The last lesson was his elective with Mr. Weasley and it was also his most surprising.

"Harry, you're here, good. Let me just put this away and we'll get started." Mr. Weasley was holding something that looked like a car engine that had been destroyed in and explosion and then pieced back together by someone who had never seen a car engine before, which might actually be what it was.

"Okay, let me get started by saying that it is a great thing that you chose to learn runes. They are the first basic stepping stone into many advanced forms of magic: wards, enchanting, rituals, engraving, ward breaking, even some higher level potions and charms, and…I'm forgetting the important one…oh right…Arithmacy the math of making spells. I always love runes in school and that loved flowed into muggle items. It you looked closely at the car that I made." He looked sad at this point. "It took awhile to get all the pieces, but the reason that car flies is because the enchanting on it. The same runes are in many of the most popular brooms on the market today. If you get good enough I might teach you a little enchanting, would you like that?" Arthur Weasley was a much energized man, but you could tell he was fraying at the edges and not just by his worn clothes.

"I would love that Mr. Weasley." Harry nodded and pulled out one of the notebooks that Remus had gotten from him. Arthur was so lost in the joy of explaining runes that he didn't even question the muggle artifact that Harry was using.

It was after the class was over that Harry decided that maybe this whole training and new school would work out okay.

* * *

**A.N: **I know not as long as my first chapter, but you will just have to get over it. There is a lot of dialog in this chapter. A LOT. The last chapter was mostly descriptions, but it seemed better that way. It is slow going writing Dialog. It takes a lot out of you.

To get something out of the way. I don't plan on bashing anyone from cannon, this included Dumbledore. There are a lot of mixed feelings about him, me included. In my other story he's a jackass, so I thought I would even it out. He is not telling Harry everything and in no way is he a perfect selfless human being. The Headmaster as flaws, big ones, but the major on is the ability to put the good of all over the good of one. He is still his manipulative old bastard self, but he is doing everything he can think of to keep Harry safe, even from himself.

Ron and Hermione will be good guys in this story. I like them if they are done well.

I hope you enjoyed my update, this was originally 1 chapter, but I split it into 2 to have more time with cannon characters at Grimwald place. I have learned not to make promises about when I will update, but I promise you the more people review the faster the next update will be up. Later.

Please Review. :'( It will make me sad if you don't,

~Rain


	3. Your Magic is like the Floo Network

**Author's Note:**

This is IMPORTANT please read. This story is by no means the most original story in the world. There have been many stories focused around Harry in a New School with a New Name and a New Life. I will make it my own and in no way will I purposefully try to plagiarize anyone else's work.

If you like this story than I really encourage you to find and read Bloody Skies by Toki Mirage and A Second Chance at Life by Miranda Fairgold. There are others out there that are also well written but these are the two best that I have found.

Warnings: There may or may not be slash or any romance at all. There will be violence and gore. I will add warnings when they come up.

I can almost guaranty that someone will not like this story. That is okay with me I could care less about what you like. This is my story and I will do what I want with it.

This story is cannon until the summer after 4th year. I will be messing with the time line a bit and I still include horcruxes.

Please Review, it inspires us writers, but if you are just going to flame then you can shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

Recap: Harry has once again done the impossible and survived a Dementor's kiss. He escaped, but his cousin didn't. He went home to find that sometime during the night his relatives had been murdered. He escapes, but is later found by Dumbledore. He is taken the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters and told that he is danger to himself and others. He has Magically Matured which makes him very powerful, but because it happened so young and without training he has no control over his magic. He has to go to a new school, but before he can get there he has to go through a 2 month training spree with the members of the Order.

Disclaimer: I don't own the work of J.K. Rowling and never will.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Your Magic is like the Floo Network

* * *

**

_June 7th, 1995_

Harry had started his training for his new school yesterday and he certainly felt it. He had a hard time getting out of bed that morning because of all the sore muscles he had. He felt sore in places that he didn't even know he had. He crawled out of bed and into the shower. Someone had kindly left a numbing potion for him to take and he stopped groaning at ever movement he made. He ate breakfast quickly and had to rush to the next training room.

"Mr. Potter, good to see that you can make it to the first class on time. I will only be here for this first day, your regular teacher Ms. Tonks had a prior engagement today that could not be postponed." Professor McGonagall hadn't changed at all. She still had be hair in a strict bun and reading glasses on. "This will be harder than school classes though, mostly because this isn't going to be about teaching spells. This is about figuring out what you can do with your magic."

"Ma'am?" Harry asked confused. "I can't use spells anymore?"

"We don't know for sure. Your magic absorbed your focus for your wand. This isn't unprecedented all wand makers have to absorb their focuses before they become masters. You are the first to do it without any training in the matter though."

"Professor, why do the wand makers absorb their focuses?"

"The parts of magical creatures that are used as focuses are very temperamental. There are many spells and magics that need to be performed on wands before they become functional, however given the territorial nature of these focuses they would never allow another wand to work on them. This means that all wand makers must be either very good at wandless magic or must absorb a focus to get wandless magic. It is sad time for many of them and a huge deterrent for most wizards to become ward makers." Professor McGonagall stood up at this point and walked to the front of Harry's desk. "You are an anomaly purely because of the fact that you absorbed your focus without training."

"Ummm, thank you?" Harry was confused again.

"Sorry, Mr. Potter, absorbing a focus can have many affects on the wizard in person, they may gain some attributes of the animal their focus comes from. Nothing too big I think. It also has different affects on your magic. As of right now your magic has an also sentient quality about it, automatically reading what you want and doing it for you. Isn't that right?"

"I guess it has been doing a lot without any say so from me."

"Well, let's give it a try I want you to do a simple levitating charm on this feather." She conjured a feather in front of him.

"Windgar…" he didn't even get to finish saying the words before the feather was floating in the air. Harry moved his hand from side to side and the feather moved in the same direction. "Well, that's odd. Does this mean that I can't do spells?"

"Not in the traditional sense I think. Your magic is very odd, it is still attached to your soul, you can tell because it reads you like a child with accidental magic. It's very intriguing because all your magically maturity would do is amplify your magic and continue to give you more power as you age. Even absorbing your focus wouldn't cause this. Something must have caused the separation to stop… Oh dear, I'm sorry my boy this wasn't supposed to be the lesson at all." She backed away quickly to her desk and shuffled her papers.

"Right, this is about seeing how much control you have and how much magic you can spend. I want you to try all of these spells, first by saying them, then just by thinking of them, and finally by thinking of the effect." She backed away and left Harry to practice the spells.

By the end of class Harry felt tired mentally instead of just physically. The Professor had walked him through all of the transfiguration spells he had been taught at Hogwarts starting with first year. It was found that Harry could do all of the spells he could do before with little difficulty. It almost seemed that he could just think something and his magic would react, but it had the adverse side affect of wearing him out quickly. If he just thought about the affect he wanted then his magic didn't have a gauge about how much to spend. He spent just as much magic transfiguring a nettle into a matchstick as rat into a cup. This meant all of his spells were very over powered. If he didn't get under control soon he would be tired constantly, because his magic was always recharging itself.

His next class was charms with Mrs. Weasley so he yawned and turned the time turner.

"Harry dear, good to see you, I know you have been working for 2 hours already so I made you some tea and biscuits would you like them?" Mrs. Weasley was very open with her apron still on and she smelled like freshly baked bread. Harry was once very jealous of the Weasley family because Mrs. Weasley cared so much about all of them.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley, I would really appreciate that." Harry took some tea and sat down. "I have a note from Professor McGonagall for you." He handed her the note and took out his Charms notebook. Mrs. Weasley gave it a read and nodded to herself. "Mrs. Weasley if it isn't too much of a personal question why are you teaching me Charms?"

"Well, before I married Arthur I was training to be an auror. I even have a Charms Mastery. I realize this is surprising, my children don't believe me until I show them some tricks I've learned over the years. My title is Charms Mistress Weasley. I was going very quickly through the ranks of the guild before I started my family and then I became so focused on making a good family that I let my career ambitions go. That was a long time ago though. I am very proud of the spell that I made for my Mastery qualification. It's an advance cleaning spell that gets into small areas and cleans with precision. It can hurt when used on people though. Enough about me, let's start the class. Minerva wrote me that it seems that anything you can think of your magic can do. I would like to test this."

"How?" Harry asked.

"So far, all you have been doing is spells your magic already knows. Spells you have done before. I would like to try and do new spells. I would like to start with Incarcerous, it's a spell that shoots ropes around a target and binds them. We'll do this the same way Minerva did, saying the spell, then thinking of the spell, and finally thinking of the affect you want it to have." Mrs. Weasley sat down on a chair in the corner and pointed him at the dummy in the corner.

Harry gathered his thoughts and put up his arm and said, "Incarcerous." He was instantly surprised when nothing happened. He was going to try again when Mrs. Weasley reminded him of the test. He pointed to the dummy in the corner and almost shouted _Incarcerous_ in his head. Again nothing happened. Harry paused confused, but decide to do the last step of the test. He pointed his hand at the dummy again and thought of the dummy being wrapped in rope.

He was surprised again when thick ropes appeared out of nowhere and covered the dummy from head to foot. He collapsed on one knee. He had felt the large draw that the spell had taken out of his magic. He leaned against the side of the table and tried not to fall asleep.

"Oh dear, Harry are you okay?" Mrs. Weasley was bustling around and before he knew what was going on he was levitated to a couch that appeared in the middle of the class room. Mrs. Weasley let him rest until he pulled himself to a seated position.

"What happened?" Harry asked nervously.

"Minerva and I were trying to figure out what your magic was doing and I think I know."

"So what is it?"

"I am not a Magical Theory teacher, but I will try to explain to the best of my abilities. If you are still confused after my explanation, ask the next time you have Magical Theory class. Okay, to start with, do you know how spells work? What they do?" Mrs. Weasley asked. She was sitting in an armchair in front of Harry at this point.

"No, we never really went over that in Hogwarts."

"I'm not surprised, children should not be learning how to create spells, it is a very dangerous profession and many have been killed for trying. What is the most important thing to do when casting a spell? I'll give you a hint, it has nothing to do with the motion of your wand or the way you say the spell." Mrs. Weasley explained.

"Intent?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling. The most important thing to do when casting a spell is to visualize your outcome. It becomes second nature to most wizards and witches though."

"Very good, Harry. You are correct. The most important part of doing a spell correctly is visualizing the outcome you want. That being said, do you know why we use spells instead of just visualizing what we want to happen every time we do magic?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Ummm, so others know what you are doing?"

"No. All witches and wizards are capable of doing magic without spells. It is much quicker and simpler with spell. Though, this is very hard to explain to someone who hasn't gone through schooling. Do you know how magic works?"

"I don't know. I thought no one really did."

"That's true in a way. We d know certain things though. The best way I can explain magic to you is the floo network. In every house there is a fireplace that connects to the floo network. Your own personal magic is like your house, or home. There is a part of it that connects to all other houses. Like the floo network information travels through this place and tells your magic what a spell does. Your wand actually is a tuner for this place. When saying a spell it opens the information section and looks up the spell that you want to perform. This is a very helpful tool for all witches and wizards. However, the part of your wand that acts as a tuner for this portion of your magic is the wood. There are many runes on the wood that allow for the information to be translated to your magic." Mrs. Weasley paused in her explanation.

"So my magic has knowledge about what spells I have already done?"

"To a certain extent, yes. Your magic has a copy of some of the information of the spell map. So when you say a spell, it knows the effect that you want it to have. There are some things that aren't copied over into your magic. Mostly the small details about the spell aren't copied over." Mrs. Weasley answered.

"So, one of the things not copied over is how much magic to use?" Harry asked confuse.

"The thing is, Harry dear that just like every home is different so is every wizard's magic. Some have bigger cores, like you and Dumbledore, but most have smaller cores, and the fact that children are learning the spells mean that spell crafters have to be careful about what they put in about magic usage. If they put in a minimum usage, that means they only want older more experienced magic users to use the spell. However, most spell crafters just put a maximum magic limit so that students don't throw all of their magic into a single spell." Mrs. Weasley explained.

"So, my magic knows the maximum amount of magic to use on a spell and just defaults to that?" Harry asked know understanding more.

"Yes, the spells that you have done successfully before have given you some knowledge of what the spell is doing. Your magic is very different from the average wizard's or witch's magic at this stage. It has a mind of its own. Currently all it wants to do is make you happy, and it wants to do want you want it to do. Because it has such limited intelligence of the spells it's estimating that you want to use the most magic you can on every spell you do. Like Dumbledore told everyone, your biggest problem right now is the fact that you have little to no control over what your magic is doing. Do you understand?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Mostly, but how does information about the spells exist in the network?" Harry asked confused. This was the first time he had ever heard about magic this way.

"Ah, good question, in layman's terms a 'spell map'. There have been many different names for it over the years, but it's sort of hard to explain. I will show you mine, but you can't touch it. Like the magic in wands it is very territorial." She waved her wand in the air and out of thin air a scroll appeared. Harry didn't even have to get close to it to feel the magic pouring off the scroll. It heated the air just by being in the room.

"What is that?" Harry asked.

"This is my spell map. It is the second I have ever made, the first exploded. Spell crafting is a very dangerous business, if you are not careful the magic could turn on you in an instant." She opened the scroll and gave him a glimpse of the words. They weren't really word though, just runes and scribbles. There were lines crisscrossing the page. There wasn't a single area on the scroll that was empty. "I am only showing you this, because I know you can't understand it. Most spell crafters guard their spell maps with jealousy and viciousness. It can be very dangerous to change the spell map of the spell. Not only because it could explode on the person who touched it, but also the ramifications of changing or destroying it." She almost shivered and held the map closer to her.

"What do you mean?"

"A spell is designed down to the last detail. Every wand twitch, syllable, even character of a spell designed specifically to do exactly what you want. All of these specifications do different things. One of the most important parts of a spell is the magic usage. The spell requires a certain amount of your magic; the spell has a magic limit in place so that you can't spend all your magic on one spell. Very powerful wizards and witches with little control can't do easy spells because of the magic constraints. They will over load an easy spell with too much magic causing it to not work. There are other parts of a spell that are important, but you don't need to know them. I explained this to you because you need to understand what your magic is doing."

"What is it doing?"

"Your magic isn't working with spells right now. It is working entirely on intent; it has knowledge of previous spells you have done, but no knowledge of new spells. With no wand you don't have a translator, meaning as of right now you can't learn any new spells. Your magic is working too much on the intent. I will ask Arthur to make you a translator tonight, but with the little control your magic has, it might not be of too much of a use yet. Now, I think we have successfully wasted our class time and you still have plenty more classes for today. Have a good day, Harry dear." She started cleaning up the room. Harry got t o the door before he stopped and turned.

"Mrs. Weasley, one more question."

"Yes, of course, ask me anything."

"What would happen if you destroyed a spell map?"

"Oh, the spell would become very hard or impossible to do." She turned again.

"So, there would be a map of the Avada Kedavra, wouldn't there?" Harry asked. Mrs. Weasley turned so fast it must have given her whiplash.

"Harry, no. Whatever you are thinking, stop right now. All spell maps are guarded viciously. If the protections on mine could kill you, I guarantee that the ones on the unforgivable certainly would. Not to mention that no one knows when or where that curse was made. It would be near impossible to tract down and destroy. Also, sadly, there is more than one spell that can kill a man and not all are so quick about it. Humans can be very mean to each other, so even if this one curse was destroyed there would be others made so quickly it would make your head hurt. Now run off, I know you have a class soon." She pushed him out the door and shut it.

Harry left the lecture classrooms and headed for his Defense class. Remus was turning out to be as good of a tutor as he was a professor. He had a way of teaching that made the time fly by and before you knew it class was over. After Defense was Offense with Mad-eye who was proving to be just as or more paranoid than before.

Harry limped down to lunch in Grimmauld Place's kitchen. Moody's lessons were all physical at this point, trying to get Harry into shape. Harry crashed into one of the chairs at the table a dug into lunch like a man who had been starved half his life, but to Harry's credit that description was entirely false.

"Hey, Harry, how are your lesson's going?" Hermione had lifted her head from her book to ask the question. She even closed the book to start eating.

"Good, I guess. My body would disagree, but according to Mad-eye I shouldn't be listening to it anyway. How about you? Enjoying your summer off?" Harry grinned at her.

"To a certain extent, I am jealous of your extra lessons. I would love to have one on one tutoring with some of the smartest witches and wizards of a generation." Hermione gave a little sigh and started eating lunch.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked still shoveling food into his mouth.

"Well, think about it. The Headmaster would never let someone into his group of fighters if they didn't know what they were doing. Hogwarts is one of the best wizarding schools in the entire world. Its teacher's are way above par. For example Professor McGonagall was the youngest person to pull off an animagus transformation, at the young age of 12. She is at the top of the Transfiguration Guild, one of youngest to be at the highest level of the Guild, the Master's Council. That's not even including all of the war metals she has or her Mediwitches degree, the equivalent of a muggle Doctor. Even Professor Snape is one of the youngest Potion Masters in the world. He got famous because of the advances he made in the Wolfsbane Potion." Hermione was eating slowly at this point and giving facts about the other teachers at school.

"Gees, 'Mione give is a rest on the advertizing speech we already go there." Ron took a seat besides Harry and surprised everyone by having a book in his hand. "Did you know that muggles have gigantic battles with hundreds of thousands of people?"

Harry and Hermione looked at him like he grew another head.

"Well, it's true. The biggest wizard battle that ever occurred had 1000, witches and wizards. That even got broke up because of all the attention they were getting. Muggles have some amazing war strategies." Ron put his book on the table and dug into food. Harry was too shocked to answer him.

"So I guess you liked the book I gave you?" Hermione asked smugly and started eating again.

"Yeah, it was great. One of the best books I ever read." Ron didn't say much more after that.

"So Hermione, I've been trying to get around to it all day and yesterday. What happened with your family?" Harry asked pushing his food away and looking a Hermione.

"Oh, it's nothing, just an extended vacation that's all." Hermione got a glazed look in her eyes and after a moment shook her head to get it clear. "If you will excuse me, I have to check something." She got up from the table and walked out of the room.

Harry looked to Ron who just shrugged and went back to eating.

After lunch was done Harry headed to the lecture rooms again, it was time for his first History of Magic and Magical Beings class with Remus. He entered the room and sat at the table that already had a notebook on it.

Remus entered the room soon after, "Good, your already here. Then we can just get started. It is very important that you listen in these classes Harry, some of the information I give can save your life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Remus." Harry said as he opened his notebook.

"Okay, let's get this started. All we know about your school is that it is somewhere in the America's this means I can limit my teaching to the most important Magical Races in the America's. This is going to be a very fast moving class, so if you don't understand something you will have to cut me off and ask the question. We have a lot to go over in a very limited amount of time." Remus straightened his papers and picked up a book that was on the table and handed it to Harry.

"This is a very informative book about the Americas so I want you to read as much as you can as quick as you can. Once you are done with that one I will give you another one. Got it?"

Harry nodded and picked up the book, _So You Want to Move to the Americas: Tips and Tricks to Save your Skin_ by N. Oneya.

"I will start by explaining that there are more Magical Species in North and South America than the rest of the world combined. This includes the Wizarding World in Europe and the Magical Tribes in Africa and Asia's many Magical groups. I am not talking about Wizards and Witches either. Wizards and Witches are a minority compared to the amount of other Magical Species out there. There are a few that I will go in depth with descriptions. The most important ones we need to worry about are: Weres, Fae/Sidhe, Vampires, Hybrids, Demons, Goblins, Dwarfs, and Fairies. "

He paused and looked to Harry for questions.

"So Wizards and Witches are a minority?"

"Sort of, there are more witches and wizards and any one other Magical group, but compared to all of the magical groups combined we are a very small minority. This is important because there is another world hidden from the muggles. That is the Magical Realm, which is spread throughout the world, but mostly focused in the America's and the islands in the Pacific. There is a much bigger world out there that the muggles can't see. There are entire islands and sections of land that don't appear on any muggle map. Magical Beings had their secret world up and running before the Wizarding World was even an idea in someone's mind."

"So all of these Magical Beings live with each other in the Magical Realm?"

"Well, just like in the muggle world there are some that discriminate against other species. The Demon's have a huge section of South America completely hidden from muggles. They live hidden in that World and almost no one outside of the species is allowed in. The Sidhe have entire cities in the sky that are protected from anyone not a Sidhe from entering. There are many of these smaller sections of the world that are cut off from the Magical Realm, but the even if there major settlements are cut off from the whole they still have influence in the workings of the Magical Realm. The only Magical Species that really has nothing to do with the Magical Realm is the Wizarding World." Remus answered.

"Why did wizards and witches make their own world instead of joining the Magical Realm?" Harry asked.

"Well, this might be hard to believe, but there are wizards and witches out there that are some of the most powerful beings on the planet. Young wizards and witches don't seem like much, but all of them have the ability to become immensely powerful once they hit their Maturity. When we come together on a decision we have more focus and single determination than any other race in the world. We have a lot of infighting, but if another race was to attack the wizarding world they would be wiped out very quickly." Remus paused in leaned back in his chair.

"There are races out there that are very powerful, but it is usually a very small percentage of their population that is so powerful. Once a wizard or witch hits their Maturity they are a heavy hitter in any Realm. However, most wizards and witches don't use even a percentage of their totally power in their lives. Most are very content to just go about their daily lives not making any waves or starting any fights. If there were more people that cared enough to fight Voldemort the war would be over quickly, but most wizards would rather run away from a conflict than fight in it. That's not even including the most powerful witches and wizards that are hundreds of years old. They don't fight unless someone goes out of their way to make them angry. The people that could move mountains if they so wished." Remus looked straight at Harry.

"You are very powerful Harry, and will continue to grow in strength as you age, but you are at least a century or two away from the amount of power that a single one of the oldest has. Those people are smart and don't get into a conflict that they can avoid." Remus got up and went to Harry.

"I think that is enough about the Wizarding World and Magical Realm for today. Let's start with Magical Beings. I will continue where I left off in Defense with Weres. I am a turned Werewolf and a Wizard. There are other species of Weres out there like, werelions and werepanthers. The Were virus spread through many species of non-magical creatures mostly feline and canine. Wolves were one of the first to spread it to humans which is where it really got interesting. A lot of the people that got infected first were adopted into the packs of the creatures and taught the way they should act. Do you know the story of how Romulus, the founder of Rome, and Remus, his brother, were raised by wolves?"

Harry nodded his head.

"There were some of the first werewolves. However, the virus has since died out in animals and is only left in humans. As I've stated before there are 2 types of Weres born and turned. Some of the Were species no longer have the option of turning people, they didn't infect anyone new for centuries and now their strain of virus can't be passed on to any new hosts except those born into it, the wereleopards are like this."

Remus continued to talk about the other species of Weres until the time ran out and then Harry turned back to the next class he had with Sirius.

"Harry, good, you're on time." Sirius was looking through and old book and resting on one of the couches in the room. "Alright, I'm probably not the best person to be teaching you etiquette, but I am the only one who has been trained in what you need to know. As the heir to a major pureblood family it was necessary for me to learn for to interact with other species. Hopefully, I can pass along some of that information. So Remus was going over Weres today, so I will to. First let's talk about the hierarchy in a Were pack." For someone who tried to be as least serious as he could be, Sirius was very knowledgeable about the correct actions to take.

Harry wrote down as much as he could on the subject, but before he knew what happened the time was up and he had to head to what promised to be the worst class of all, Occlumency with Snape. Sirius gave him a sad smile and a pat on the back and pushed him out the door.

"Potter, stop staring into nothing, your low intelligence is showing." Snape was lounging in one couches by the fire place when Harry walked in. There was only one other open seat across from Snape so Harry walked and sat down. He had the book with him that Snape had assigned earlier.

"Well, I hope you didn't waste my time, did you read the book?" Snape asked snidely.

"Yes, Hermione forced me to finish reading it yesterday afternoon at the study time I have set aside." Harry answered.

"I am well aware of your schedule Mr. Potter. Did you do the other thing I asked?" Snape glared at him.

Harry was confused for a moment before he pulled out the potion that Snape had given him. He almost chugged the entire thing before he remembered that he was only supposed to drink half of it.

"Good, now we can get started. The potion shouldn't dull your already limited intelligence, but if you encounter anything that is not supposed to occur you _must_ tell me at once. Do you understand?" Snape glared at Harry until he nodded. "What did you think of the book? Did you try any of the exercises it lays out?"

"The book was very hard to get through at times, but the examples were very explanatory and easy to understand. I understood most of the book and tried exercise 2 last night." Harry made a face.

"Had problems Mr. Potter?" Snape asked.

"I couldn't keep my mind cleared, every time I was able to stop another thought just came around." Harry blushed, at the bad explanation he gave.

"Hmm, did you read the tip at the back of the book?" Snape asked.

"No…" Harry opened the book and flipped to the back.

_One of the major problems that young people face while trying to master Occlumency is their constantly running minds. There is no easy way for an active child to clear their mind. Everyone thinks differently and has different ideas of what's relaxing._

_The only advice I can give to these youngsters besides patience, is to think of a place or an action that makes you the most relaxed. Whether it be climbing trees or reading a book, think of door that thing and ignore the rest of your thoughts. Good luck._

"So, Mr. Potter, what is it that you enjoy doing the most?" Snape snarled. He already knew the answer, but Harry had to figure it out for himself.

"Flying, I can block out the rest of the world easily when I'm in the sky." Harry looked forlorn out the window; the sky was dimming already getting ready for sundown.

"Mr. Potter focus. Now we will try this later in the lesson. I need to explain a few things to you." Snape got up and walked in front of the fireplace. "I am only doing this because the headmaster asked me and you need to know this skill before you enter Iskola. I don't give out information of my personal life freely, but you need to hear it from the horse's mouth, so to say. Iskola is one of the toughest schools in the world. That is not including the student population which is competitive at best and aggressive at worst. There is no easy or short path when you are in the school. You will have to work twice as hard to stay passing your classes and more if you want to get a good grade."

"Sir, are you saying that you went to Iskola?" Harry asked softly.

Snape glared for a second before responding, "Yes, Mr. Potter and I only lasted a year before I quit. I knew Occlumency before I went in, but was not prepared for the effort it takes to out hold a shield in that kind of situation. I am telling you this so that you will take these classes as seriously as possible. I ideally would have liked to do this the easy way which takes a longer period of time, but gets good results. That would include me attacking your mind until you could recognize an intruder and learn to block me out. Unfortunately, we will have to do this the hard way. Your mind is young and very chaotic at this age; it is easier for older people to master the mind arts for this reason." Snape paused to let Harry absorb this information.

"Sir, what's the hard way?" Harry asked.

"You took the first step last night. You have to know your mind completely and from the knowledge you have to build storage unit for your memories and defenses around your mind. This takes a much long period of time in your mind, because you have to know every memory you have before you can go any farther."

"How will we do that?"

"This is the hard part. The easiest way I can think of for you to learn your mind is meditation and Legilimency. The meditation you will do on your own time and with the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall in your Magic Control class. The Legilimency will happen here. I will not enjoy this anymore then you do, but it must be done." Snape rubbed his eyes and looked human for the first time that Harry had known the man.

"Sir, what does that mean? Will you be reading my mind?"

"Yes, Potter, you will have to look through all of your old memories and to do that I will have to bring them up, which means that I will see them too. Now before you start complaining and throwing a tantrum you must understand that there is no one else in the order that can do this as well or as fast as I can. Dumbledore chose me for a reason and it will be difficult for you to let someone you don't trust into your head, which is why you must take that potion before each class."

Harry could feel the anger he had at the situation somewhere inside him, but it wasn't coming out. You couldn't release his frustrations. He sighed heavily and then gave up, the potion prevented him from have too much emotion in his system, but it felt as if he had lost a piece of him that was essential.

"I understand, sir. I don't approve of this, but I understand the decision that the Headmaster made." Harry had a glazed look in his eyes, but seemed to be listening.

"Good Potter, I know this is hard for you…" Snape shook his head and continued, "It is best that we just get started." Snape sat down across from him and without a second thought, "_Legilimens."_

Before Harry could say another word he was dragged into the world of his memories.

"**Lily, he's here…" **

"**RUN!"**

"**No, not my baby, not Harry, take me instead please…"**

"_**AVADA KEDAVRA…" **_**A flash of green…**

Harry was thrown back into his body gasping. He felt weak like he had gone through a Offense class with Mad-eye.

"That… is your first memory?" Snape asked. For the first time he looked at Harry with something akin to pity.

"Yes, I relive it every time a Dementor is nearby." Harry said nonchalantly, he couldn't care less right now. Somewhere he was mad at his situation and what Dumbledore had forced him into with Snape, but on the outside he was apathetic to everything.

"Very well, let's continue." Snape said the spell again and Harry was forced back into his memories. To sit and stare at bad memories of his childhood that he would much rather forget that pull back up.

A couple hours later Harry was leaning against the door in his bedroom. The potion had worn off and by the time it had he couldn't find the strength to care about what was happening. Somewhere in the middle of the madness that was Harry's childhood he had forgotten to care that he was being forced into this.

He did know one thing though. It was going to be a long two months.

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AN: YEY! I got this out in time. Today is my birthday and I wanted to reward myself and my readers with a fun little chapter. It is shorter than the other too, but is the last of the largely descriptive chapters.

The next chapter will be focused on rushing Harry through the last 2 months before his new school. He will finally figure out what is going on with the Wizarding World that no one wants him to know and other personal stuff happens. I am not going to completely forget cannon character's as I go to the new school, but expect a lot of OCs. I like my new characters, so if you don't get over it. Just be glad that I am not making all of Rowling's cannon characters stupid assholes, which _a lot_ of stories do.

It is my birthday so if you just want to be nice and give me a little present, leave a review. :D

Pretty please, with cherries on top?

~Rain


	4. Judius Crux

**Author's Note:**

If you like this story than I really encourage you to find and read Bloody Skies by Toki Mirage and A Second Chance at Life by Miranda Fairgold. There are others out there that are also well written but these are the two best that I have found.

Warnings: There will be slash, but only with OCs, my characters. It will be present in this story so if you are homophobic you probably won't like this story. There will be violence and gore. I will add warnings when they come up.

I can almost guaranty that someone will not like this story. That is okay with me I could care less about what you like. This is my story and I will do what I want with it.

This story is cannon until the summer after 4th year. I will be messing with the time line a bit and I still include horcruxes.

Please Review, it inspires us writers, but if you are just going to flame then you can shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

Recap: Harry has once again done the impossible and survived a Dementor's kiss. He escaped, but his cousin didn't. He went home to find that sometime during the night his relatives had been murdered. He escapes, but is later found by Dumbledore. He is taken the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters and told that he is danger to himself and others. He has Magically Matured which makes him very powerful, but because it happened so young and without training he has no control over his magic. He has to go to a new school, but before he can get there he has to go through a 2 month training spree with the members of the Order.

Disclaimer: I don't own the work of J.K. Rowling and never will. In no way will I purposefully try to plagiarize anyone else's work. All ideas about how magic works or the Magical Realm are my own, if you decide that you like these ideas enough to use in your own story I request that you send me a review first and I will say yes. Not that I actually think anyone will use my ideas, but please if you want to go ahead.

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**Chapter 4: Judius Crux**

* * *

_June 10__th__, 1995_

Harry leaned back in the chair in the library. It was Saturday one of the few days that he had off and with the amount of time he spent studying he needed the rest. It was currently his second time going through the day. The time turner had been a very useful tool in making him not turn out like a zombie. He was essentially living 2 days in one which was buggering up his internal clock.

Harry had started the day by sleeping as late as he could and waking up to lunch in bed. Dobby had showed up sometime in the last week, but Harry couldn't remember the exact day, they were all starting to blend in at this point. Dobby had turned into Harry's personal house elf and wouldn't let anyone else serve him. It had gotten to such a point that Hermione was trying to give him clothing again. Dobby just accepted it with a smile on him face and 20 knitted hats on his head.

The Order had decided sometime in the week that they needed to make sure that Harry wasn't going to burn out in the first month, which leads to Dobby being called. They had been bonded since 2nd year, Harry didn't know it, but apparently house elves could forcefully bond with wizard if their magics were compatible. It was the reason Dobby started working at Hogwarts, as it turned out he had been cooking Harry's meals since the beginning of 3rd year.

That story was interesting, but it just meant that where ever Harry was going than Dobby would surely follow. It also meant that Harry had someone who would force meals down his throat between classes. He was almost never without a snack in his pocket or a meal in front of his face which turned out to be a very good thing.

With all of the exercising that Harry was doing thanks to Moody's superhuman stamina and Remus's werewolf skills. Harry had never gone a day without limping to bed and waking up sore. It had only been a week since the schedule started an already he was ready to take a nosedive out of a window.

"Dobby", Harry didn't really have to yell for Dobby to appear, he could apparently read Harry's wants and need as much as his magic could.

"Yes, Master Harry friend, sir." Dobby stood to attention. He was dressed in a small butler's uniform that Hermione had got for him after she saw how Dobby was dressing himself. Dobby had sewn the Potter crest into the shoulder, but still was wearing the 20 knitted hats on his head, it was quite the balancing act and everyone in the Order agreed that he must be using magic to keep it that way.

"Dobby, please, I told you just to call me Harry." Harry sighed, but let it go. He had been trying unsuccessfully to make Dobby call him Harry all week. He at least got him to stop praising his greatness every time he saw him.

"Master Harry sir is a great wizard sir and Dobby does not deserve him. No he does not." Dobby was shaking his head vigorously and the hats tilted, but did not fall.

"Dobby, I need you to go get the book that McGonagall assigned me from my room." Harry leaned back in his chair. His first run through the day had been spent in meditation, or trying to get in meditation. It was one of the most important skills to learn, but it still took Harry forever to get there. He spent an hour almost calming his thoughts and only then could he start sorting through everything like Snape wanted.

Snape was one of his most confusing teachers this summer. He looked at Harry sometimes with pity, but most times with confusion. They were working through Harry's memories fast, almost on his 6th year with the Dursleys. Snape had assured him that once the memories got newer it would take a much longer time to go through.

"Here you go, Master Harry friend, you asked me to remind you that Tonks assigned a transfiguration assignment due on Monday that you couldn't forget." Dobby was taking the fact that there were almost always 2 Harry's running around in stride. Harry would often give messages to Dobby to send to his older or younger selves. The one rule that Harry never broke was the time traveling rule that you could never see your older self. Harry and the rest of the Order worked around 2 Harry's, but didn't want to have to deal with a paradox on top of all the other commotion that was happening.

Harry frowned into his book. The one thing he hadn't been able to figure out all week was what was going on in the outside world. There always seemed to be one Order member or another running in and out of the house and going on missions. Even Ron and Hermione were avoiding the questions he tried to ask, always distracting him with one thing or another. Hermione was the worst about it. Harry could tell it was bothering her that she couldn't tell him what was going on because she was never around him. She always found another place to be or somewhere to run off to.

The classes were fun and engaging, even Occlumency, but even the teachers were distracted at times. Dumbledore was especially bad about gazing into nothing thinking about a problem for long periods of time when he was supposed to be teaching.

Harry got out his transfiguration notebook that Remus had gotten him and starting writing down the steps to inanimate object animation. The one thing that had been figured out about Harry's magic was how he could learn new spells. Mr. Weasley was still working on the translation talisman for his magic, but in the mean time they were trying to work around it.

It seemed that the more theory that Harry learned about magic the more controlled his magic became, sort of at least.

"Harry. Good, I found you. I have been asking people all day where you were at and they all gave different answers. I wanted to know if you would like to play a game of chess." Ron was carrying his wizarding chess board under one arm along with a book in his other. He was changing the most since the beginning of the summer. Harry found it odd, but Ron had started maturing very quickly and was more and more interested in old muggle strategy textbooks about wars. It seemed that every other day he had another book in his hand. Harry had stopped asking where he got them at this point, because he like Hermione always seemed busy.

"Sure, Ron, I can finish this later, I already understand the theory I just have to write the essay." Harry closed his book and without another thought the chair he was in was turned toward the other chair in the room and a side table room across the area came sliding over to sit in between the two. Ron and Harry both had a shocked look on their faces, but Harry threw it off sooner. "Still getting used to that, but at least it isn't wearing out as much anymore. It feels like the more I learn about this stuff the smarter my magic gets."

"That is really scary, mate, you should get that under control." Ron grinned at him and set out the chess set. Harry now had to play with non-magical pieces because the one time he had tried to use the magical ones they had all run off and hid. Ron was still finding pieces cowering behind furniture in the living room.

"Oh, laugh it up. I'm trying my best, but it has only been a few days since I started this and I can't stop it from doing anything. I'm just glad it still likes me." Harry gave a sigh of exhaustion and sagged in his chair which was then made more comfortable by his magic. "I swear I can't even take a cold shower anymore. The only thing that it cares more about then my wants is my health. If I have another vegetable _magically _appear on my plate I'm going to throw myself out of a window. Not that it would do any good because my magic would just slow me down and cushion my fall anyways!" Harry groaned and went to hit his forehead against the table only to have it move away from him.

"Mate, you have got to be the worst case of schizophrenia in history. A part of you wants to hurt yourself, but the other part won't let you." Ron started laughing really loudly and wet up the pieces.

"Oy, bugger off you git. If I really wanted to hurt myself I'm sure I could find a way. OW." Harry rubbed the back of his head. The book he had been reading and floated up and hit him in the head. "See like that, I could just make my magic hurt me." Harry continued rubbing his head and moved his first black piece.

"Please, Harry don't make me laugh anymore I think I might die of laughter." Ron told another of his pieces to move. "Have you seen 'Mione anywhere?"

"No, I think she has been avoiding me all week." Harry sighed.

"It probably wasn't on purpose, Dumbledore asked her…" Ron looked up shocked and then back down at the chess table.

"Dumbledore asked her what?" Harry focused on Ron and not the game.

"Forget about it Harry, it's no big deal, just a little bit of research." Ron was now not looking at Harry but solely on the game.

"Research? Why does the Headmaster need a student, let alone a 5th year to be doing research for him? Doesn't he have an entire Order of people willing to follow his every command?" Harry asked.

"Look, I don't know the full story. You should ask 'Mione, or Dumbledore, you see him more than I do. Forget about it Harry, what's important is you having some rest time. Stop thinking about the rest of the world for one minute and remember that you are still human like the rest of us." Ron still wasn't looking Harry in the face.

"One, of these days, and hopefully soon, you will tell me what you are hiding from me." Ron looked up sharply to disagree, but Harry cut him off. "Oh no, don't argue. You and 'Mione are the worst liars. You have been my best friends for 4 years Ron. You don't get to lie to me. Evade questions all you want, but don't ever lie to me. Got it?" Harry glared at Ron until he nodded.

"Harry, I just…" Ron stopped and then shook his head, "This isn't fair, but I can't put any more pressure on you Harry. Your relatives just died, you just got eaten and spat out by a Dementor. Everyone one of my problems in comparison is tiny."

"When did you become so mature?" Harry asked staring at Ron like it was the first time he had seen him.

"After 4th year and all of the stupid arguments and jealously that came over me, it just seems all too petty now. Even Malfoy feels like an immature brat at this point. The stuff that has happened to us, to you, I can't think like I used to anymore. I need to grow up; at least that is what Hermione keeps telling me." Ron leaned back in his chair and moved another of his pieces. "Besides, it has been a long month and it feels like that won't change anytime soon."

Harry glared at Ron again. It wasn't the first time that someone had said that to him or around him and he was getting sick of not knowing what it meant. Harry could feel his magic rising so he calmed himself down. He needed to stop over reacting to everything it wouldn't help anything.

"So what are you doing when I'm in class?" Harry asked interested. Ron blushed.

"Um, well I've been reading more recently and…Dumbledore is keeping us all busy." Ron evaded the question badly.

"Fine, keep it to yourself." Harry was annoyed now, but was trying to keep it from showing. The room's temperature was rising steadily and a couple books were starting to shake.

"Forget about it, besides you have enough to worry about, how is Occlumency going?" Ron asked carefully.

"Slowly, but surely. I've only had 2 classes with Snape, but he is different than he is in school. More relaxed somehow, but going through the memories are tough, for the both of us really." Harry left it at that. Going through the memories was proving to be tough, but mostly because of the emotions that got raised during the lessons. Even with the potion working he was still feeling some emotions seeping through. Snape had already met with Dumbledore to discuss increasing the power of the potion, but since it could have a lot of possible side effects they decided against it.

They finished the rest of the game with small talk about homework and lessons. It bothered Harry that there were things going on that his best friends were keeping from him, but had a feeling that if it were up to them he would have been told right away. Harry lost the game, but it took much longer than some of the games the two had shared.

No matter how strong in magic Harry got he would never know as much as Hermione or be as tactical as Ron. This actually calmed him a bit. It made him feel normal for a bit.

* * *

_June 16__th__, 1995_

"Good job, Mr. Potter, let's take a break for a while." Snape leaned back in his chair. They had just gotten to the memory of Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley. Harry was sweating profusely, but still didn't feel much more than a small taste of longing.

"Professor Snape, as we are about to head into my years at Hogwarts I would like to make a request." Harry's dulled eyes met Snape's black ones squarely.

"Well, Potter, out with it."

"I would like you to take an oath that you will not inform anyone of what you will see in my memories or punish anyone for any rule breaking that you may see." Harry asked monotone.

"Mr. Potter, I don't think that I need to agree to that. Any rule breaking that hasn't already been punished should be punished to prevent similar behavior from repeating." Snape said snidely.

"Very well, I then ask that any punishments that you want to give out should be given to me instead of the accused party." The potion made Harry say what he needed to say as quickly as possible, even if that meant using words that he wouldn't otherwise have used.

"I see. You don't want your friends punished because you have to show your memories to your professor." Snape thought silently for awhile and then nodded. "I agree. Is there any other requests that you have about your memories?" After Harry shook his head Snape asked another question, "Do you have a problem with me adding in an exception clause to tell someone information if I fear they or you may be in danger?"

"I don't know why that would matter. No one tells me anything anyways. I doubt that I have any information that could put me or anyone else in danger except my location." Harry said blankly.

"Just a precaution I assure you." Snape replied in a Dumbledore like manner. After Harry nodded he began. "I, Severus Tobias Snape, do swear on my life and magic to never repeat the information that I have learned from Harry James Potter's memories except for information that could cause peril to him or another." Snape's wand was raised and with a large twirl and swish Harry could see the light of the magic that was performing the sealing spell.

"Is that good enough for you?" Snape asked.

Harry nodded and they got back to work.

* * *

_July 1__st__, 1995_

**Harry was sitting in what could only be described as a throne at was at the front of a large room. It was dark and sparsely lit, but Harry could see clearly. In front of him were men and women, his men and women. His lovely death eaters. There were continuously growing in size and there was nothing the weak ministry could do about it.**

"**Enter and speak." Two boys about to be men entered the room. So foolish, without a clue what they were about to swear their lives to. Lucius had done well in Hogwarts. He was slowly gaining influence over the younger generation these two were just some of the few of the Slytherins he had been recruiting. For his reward Harry had allowed Lucius to kneel next to his throne for the night, a great honor.**

"**Sir, these are two of my fellow classmates, Severus Snape and Regulus Black, I believe they both have something to give to the cause." Harry looked down at Lucius on his right, he was somehow younger than Harry remembered… no that wasn't right.**

"**Let us see if you are proven right. Severus, Regulus it is time to prove yourself loyal to the cause." Harry waved his hand and the door opened. Two female muggles were brought in and Harry felt his stomach drop in dread the same time that his heart rate increased because of excitement.**

**Harry squirm in his bed… no, it was a throne. Something wasn't right… This wasn't him…since when did Severus ever seem so young… was he….was… it… a… dream…**

The room was a mess. The magic had torn it apart in distress; Harry was squirming on the bed his face contorted in agony and arousal. The doorway was packed with people all in equal distress trying to get in. Every time someone put more than a foot in the room they got thrown across the hall.

"HARRY! PLEASE YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!" Molly Weasley was by for the loudest of the group, but only because her lungs had more exercise than others.

"Harry, mate, come on it's just a nightmare." Ron Weasley had a wild look in his eyes, like someone who was trying to figure out something very important. He was holding Hermione's hand who was by far the most distressed of the group. With tears sliding down her face she looked on the sight of Harry thrashing silently.

"Please, get out of the way. What seems to be the problem?" Dumbledore looked his usual self in a purple night gown with shooting stars randomly crossing it, even with a matching hat.

"Oh, Headmaster, thank Merlin you're here. Sometime in the middle of the night Harry started having this nightmare. We tried to get him out of it by shacking him, but his magic got violent fast. We can't even get into the room anymore." Arthur Weasley was surprisingly the most collected out of the bunch, he has even gotten dressed sometime in the night.

"How bad is it?" Dumbledore was somber now even as he looked on the sight in the room.

"Bad sir," before Arthur could explain further a large shaking came upon the house. Everyone in the hallway grabbed onto something, but no one looked surprised by it. "Those have been happening since the nightmare got bad. We have no idea what happened. Ron and Hermione both attested to the fact that Harry practiced Occlumency before bed. Is Sn…" He was interrupted by Snape stalking down the hallway in the closest speed to a run that he had ever seen. "Never mind."

"Severus, thank you for coming, I know you were busy." Dumbledore said. Snape responded by glaring in the Headmaster's direction and then turning on Ron and Hermione.

"Where is the emergency vial of potion that I gave to Mr. Potter?" Snape snarled at them.

"It's on Harry's bedside table, he kept it there in case he had a nightmare and woke up scared, and he didn't want to hurt anyone. He had been practicing, Professor, we swear. We both saw he before he went to sleep, did 2 hours of meditation before bed."

Snape sneered at Ron.

"I have no doubts as to Mr. Potter's enthusiasm about Occlumency." Snape turned quickly and went back to Dumbledore.

"Severus, I believe I can keep up a strong enough shield to keep Mr. Potter's magic from throwing us out of the room. The two of us will go together so that I can focus on the shield, can you wake him up?" Dumbledore looked seriously at Severus. Snape nodded and readied himself. "Alright, on the count on 3: 1, 2, 3…"

Snape and Dumbledore walked into the room at the same time, with Snape as close to Dumbledore as possible. They made their way slowly across the room. The magic had torn up almost everything there was to tear up. Mr. Potter was floating about 3 feet above the bed thrashing. There were too many emotions in the air for even Dumbledore to pick out what he was feeling.

As soon as they got closed enough Snape grabbed the potion off the very rickety bed side table. It was harder work actually getting to Harry because the magic was fighting them off. Dumbledore looked like he was holding to off easily, but even Snape could see the creases in his forehead and knew it wasn't so.

When they got close enough Snape moved fluidly over to what was left the bed and Harry. He reached over and grabbed Harry's jaw to force it open. He quickly shoved the vial into his open mouth and forced it shut after the potion was out. With one hand he kept the jaw shut and held Harry's nose and with the other he gently massaged he throat.

Almost instantly the magic drew back into Harry. The shaking of the house stopped and everyone at the doorway let out a collective sigh. Harry's magic even started to lower him onto the bed, the only problem with that was that there was really no more bed to lay him on. Snape moved to grab him and before either knew what he was doing Snape was carrying Harry bridal style.

The first thing Harry saw as he woke up was Professor Snape's face. It only took him a few seconds to realize just where he was. If the potion wasn't coursing through his body at the moment there would have been a blush on his face from the embarrassment.

"Professor, I would appreciate it if you put me down." Harry spoke in the monotone voice that everyone now associated with that damn potion.

"I don't like this anymore than you do Potter. I am not the one that destroyed my bed though and probably cracked the foundation of this house. If it were up to me, I would still be asleep in my bed at Hogwarts, but because one of my most difficult students decided to throw a temper tantrum in the middle of the night here I am. And if I have to suffer through this Potter than so must you." Snape sneered at Potter and then set him down on the chair that Dumbledore conjured.

"Harry, my boy, I know you must be tired, but I must know what the dream was about." Dumbledore looked his age as he said this.

"I understand, sir, I think it would be better if I explained in a private area."

"Very well, follow me." Dumbledore left the room followed by Snape and Harry. As Harry was leaving he saw the other members of the house staring at him sadly. Hermione couldn't even meet his eyes, Harry knew this was because she had been crying and didn't want him to see. A part of him deep down felt really guilty over making her cry so he did the one thing that he thought would help.

When Harry hugged Hermione she looked up very surprised. She didn't think he could feel anything with that potion in his system.

"Do not worry, Hermione, it will be over soon." Harry then turned in left without another word. Hermione stood shocked until Ron pulled her back to her room and to bed.

* * *

_July 8__th__, 1995_

It had been a week since the _incident _as they were calling it. Harry still didn't trust himself falling asleep and it was starting to show. He had large bags under his eyes and was most times stumbling around to and from classes. His teachers hadn't said anything yet, but they all had an upset look on their faces that Harry had been seeing all summer from his friends. It was like they wanted to say something to him, but couldn't.

Fortunately, for them, Harry couldn't get up enough energy to write notes in class let alone start a fight with them over it. Harry yawned and laid his head down on the book he was reading. He had dosed off for about ten minutes before the door was opened.

"Harry, my boy, I found you." Dumbledore looked like his usual crazy self

"Hello, Headmaster." Harry gave a loud yawn and stretched out. "What can I do for you this fine Saturday?"

"I got good news today, my boy. I have finally heard back from Iskola." Harry suddenly woke up, he had been waiting to hear from his potential school all summer.

"What did they say?" Harry asked excited.

"Well, they have accepted you on a trial basis. They would like to test you before the start of the school year and I have tentatively agreed. What do you think, my boy?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't really have much of a choice do I? You have explained to me plenty of times that I need to go to this school and if this all they require of me I can't see a reason not to. When if the test?" Harry asked getting more tired as he realized that it was getting closer to the school year.

"It is going to be near the end of the month. I suggested July 29th which is a Saturday and they agreed. Is that alright with you?" Dumbledore looked into Harry's eyes for a moment and Harry felt a slight test of his shields.

"Headmaster, I am really not in the mood to push you out of my mind, so please stop." Harry rubbed his forehead in discomfort. "I am fine with the date Headmaster."

"So how is Occlumency going with Professor Snape?" The Headmaster asked.

"It's going really well actually. We have gotten through all of my memories and are now working on storing them. Professor Snape says I am really advanced at telling when people are trying to enter my head. Of course, he has done it so many times I would have to have the IQ of a Blast-Ended Screwt not to recognize him entering my head. I am now mostly working by myself setting up my memory storage and protection."

"So what have you chosen as your Head quarters?" Dumbledore asked completely seriously.

"I don't think I would be doing a good job if I told you that. Only Professor Snape knows and he is sworn to secrecy." Harry grinned at the Headmaster.

"Well, can you at least tell me what your biggest defense is? I find it very interesting to see how different people protect their heads." Dumbledore asked. Harry thought for a second before he answered, he didn't want to give too much away to Dumbledore.

"Space." Harry said succinctly. "The problem that most Occlumens face when learning the craft is that most do it before their Maturity. The mind and magic are so closely intertwined that there is almost always a set limit to how big your mindscape is because of your magical limit. I don't have that problem. I can make my mindscape as big as I want, which is really making meditation fun. Most Occlumens make walls around their mind to keep people coming in, but I am taking a different approach to it." Harry smirked at Dumbledore and for a second the Headmaster was sure he saw James Potter reincarnated in front of him.

"You aren't having a problem keeping track of what is going on in the space?" Dumbledore asked intrigued. It was the first time he had ever heard of this time of defense.

"No, not at all, I set up this area…" Harry stopped himself. "Stop trying to manipulate me, Headmaster. If you want to know my defenses you will have to go there yourself." Harry grinned at the Headmaster and leaned back in his chair.

"You caught me, my boy. I am glad to hear that you are having fun with it. I was worried when I put you together with Professor Snape you wouldn't learn anything, but I guess the potion had the desired effect of lowering the animosity between you two. I think that is enough for the night, my boy." The Headmaster turned around and was about to leave when he stopped, "Oh, I almost forgot, I was supposed to give you this." He tossed a potions vial at Harry, who caught it. "A dreamless sleep potion for tonight. There have been some worries that you haven't been sleeping enough."

Harry put the potion in his pocket and turned back to his book. He didn't see the Headmaster's last sad glance in his direction.

-AD-

Albus shut the door behind him softly. The boy looked worse than the last time he saw him, it was obvious that he wasn't sleeping. Albus could still feel Harry's sleepy magic all the way down the hall. It had started affecting other members of the house too. Almost every time someone went to check on Harry they took a nap after. The only reason Albus hadn't been affected as much was because his magic had protected him.

It was a development that wasn't really for the better. If Harry started projecting his emotions onto others at his school he could turn a simple food fight into a massacre. Albus sighed as he walked down the hall. It was another thing to add to the list of Harry's traits that he was going to give to Iskola's Headmistress.

He entered the living room to an uncommon sight. Usually two or more of the Order members were fighting over some problem or another, but not today. Almost every member of the Order was leaning against their chairs, couches, or each other. It appeared as though Harry's magic was having more of an effect on others than he had first thought. The only people that were still upright and unaffected were Alastor, Severus and Minerva.

"Wake up, my dears, now is not the time to be sleeping on the job." Albus waved his wand in the air and looked on with amusement as several members of the Order jerked awake from a loud noise. "How are you all tonight?" He asked as he sat down in his favorite chair.

"We are just a little sleepy, Headmaster." Molly Weasley rubbed her eyes and sat up straighter. "It has been getting worse all week. That poor boy has no idea what he is doing." She almost glared as she said this. The members of the Order had been forbidden to tell Harry about the effects his magic was having the rest of them.

"He needs to get sleep Albus." Even Moody was less paranoid today, maybe Harry's magic was affecting him.

"I know, I gave him a potion to help him sleep, but he does have a reason not to want to go to sleep. The dream that he had… Now then enough of that, Harry's business has nothing to day with any of us." Dumbledore said brightly and completely ignored Snape who mumbled 'Since when?' under his breath. "Harry is going to be out of town on the 29th getting tested for his new school. They have promised to send the portkey to a secure area. We still have some time before we need to worry about that so let's get on to regular business."

Arthur started. "The Ministry have officially declared Harry as a fugitive and frozen all of his accounts. Luckily, Bill managed to over hear that the goblins are refusing to give the money to the Ministry. They say until there is a trial where he is found guilty they can't and won't give away a clients money. They have almost everyone in the Auror department looking for him, but are unable to find even a trace of his magic. They keep getting lead to the last place he was, which is an alley off of Privet Drive. They are using his disappearance as evidence of his guilt."

"Have they figured out yet that his magical signature has changed?" Albus asked, getting more tired as the night went on.

"Not yet, they have searched the entire country for him now, but to no effect. Luckily for us they think the Fidelius Charm is lost magic. He has been changing so much this summer, I doubt that even his old classmates would recognize him anymore." It was often commented upon in these meetings how much Harry had changed.

It appeared as though his magic was changing his body as well. Harry's eyesight had continually gotten better as the weeks went on since his Maturity. He didn't even wear glasses anymore. He also had something of a growth spurt over the summer and was now at a height of 1.6 meters (5'6" for us Americans). Due to all of the exercise from his defense and offense classes he was starting to fill out. Dobby and Molly has also set out to get Harry to a normal weight this summer and had done very well at getting him closer to his peers in weight. He still looked like a teenager, but he was turning into a heartbreaker. His hair had started growing out and went a little below his ears now.

All in all, he looked nothing like he had when he left school last year, he had really started to hit puberty and if you hadn't been there to see him change you wouldn't know he was the same person. This was a great unexpected benefit of the Maturity and it meant that they didn't need to change his appearance for his new school. It was one thing that no one had been looking forward to as the summer went on.

"Headmaster, you realize that if Harry is going to be leaving the country we will need to inform him about recent events." Snape was always the clear headed one of the group.

"Yes, but I would like to give him as much worry free time as possible." Albus let out a large sigh, it was another thing that he had not been looking forward to all summer. Explaining to Harry that the government had been pretty much over thrown and Voldemort had destroyed many of the Wizarding World's greatest treasures. "He does not need to worry about our troubles yet. He has taken most of his training well, but he is still 14. He doesn't deserve to have the World's hopes and dreams on his shoulders and he certainly doesn't need any of ours. Surviving adolescence is hard enough without the greatest Dark Lord in a century after you." One of the side effects of the ongoing war was Dumbledore's frankness with all of them. He couldn't be talking in riddles when there were people dying because of his decisions every day.

"Albus, what do we really know about this school? What do we know about the people leading it?" Molly Weasley wasn't the only one that had a problem sending Harry to another country, but she was the most vocal.

"It is the only school that can help Harry, Molly. You know that if there was any way for Harry to come back to Hogwarts I would accept him in an instant, but the fact of the matter, is that Harry is too dangerous for Hogwarts. Not only because of the Ministry, but because his magic is affecting wizards decades older than him, what do you think will happen if we let him loose with hundreds of his peers that can't protect themselves. I am sorry, but it is too much of a risk. I hope to understand."

Albus got more tired as the night went on. There was almost no good news the entire night. The Weres had either joined Voldemort or left the country. The Vampires were too hidden for anyone to find. The Sidhe did what they always did, helping and hurting both sides equally. The new muggleborn bill in the Wizengamot looked close to passing. Slowly but surely all of the good people in the Ministry were getting fired and replaced by Death Eaters or corrupt politicians. Hermione's project was taking a little longer than she first thought it would even with Lupin's help.

The only good news the entire night came from Harry's teachers describing how Harry was doing.

"He has made enormous strides in learning enchanting. His Runes work in amazing, I am thinking of having him start on smart Wards in a bit. He has great memory and almost instinctively knows which Rune to put in which spot. Recently he even started enchanting things outside the class room. All the beds in the house have 'Sleep Well' enchantments on them. Most of the candles have 'Everlasting' enchantments on them. He even made this nice enchantment on some of the razors in the house, calling it 'Never Nick'. Enchanting is somewhat of a lost art and its amazing how well magic flows through his runes." Arthur had been excited about Harry's advancements in enchanting since the first class. He had even taught Harry how to make his own basic magic translator.

"Harry has been doing well in charms. He has an affinity for it and if he dedicated himself he could become a Charms Master in a few years." Molly Weasley yawned as she said this.

"Potter has made advancements in Occlumency and if he sticks to it he could be sufficient in a year or so." Severus sniffed as he said this. It was high praise from the Potions Professor.

It seemed as though Harry had really dedicated himself to his classes. Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley had both attested to Harry's hard work.

After all the reports were done Albus dismissed the group and sat staring at the fire for awhile, there was just too much to be done.

* * *

_July _28th, 1995

It was the last Friday before Harry's test and all of the teachers had been especially hard on him. They wanted him to be the best candidate he could be. It had been awhile since the incident and after a few nights of Dreamless sleep he was back to his regular self. To prevent further nightmare he had even enchanted a Dream Catcher that Hermione had given to him, when she had gone to the States before she had picked up some with them intention to give them to her friends.

"Harry, are you listening?" Remus was trying to get his attention. It was the last his last class of the day because Snape had cancelled Occlumency.

"Yes, I am sorry Remus I was just lost in thought." Harry nodded to his teacher. He had gotten to know Remus a lot this summer. It was amazing to learn about the Marauders from Remus and Sirius. They had learned a lot about each other in class and Harry was happy to call them family. Sirius was really funny, but much more serious now than when he had been in Hogwarts. Harry loved getting to know them more.

"Well, leave those thoughts out of the class room okay?" Remus waited for his nod before continuing on.

"Yes, Mister Alpha, sir." Harry gave a mocking salute and opened his notebook. One of the first things he had learned in Sirius's etiquette was that Remus was an Alpha Werewolf. It was slightly surprising to Harry, because he had always seemed more submissive, but Remus was very protective over his pact.

"Where were we?" Remus asked while looking through his notes.

"You were about to go over the Sidhe and the fae." Harry added helpfully.

"Thank you. Now we went over fairies and other lesser fae on Wednesday, but we never got to their ruling class. The Sidhe are that ruling class. There are really 4 sections of fae. What are they?" Remus asked.

"Summer, Winter, Autumn, and Spring. During the different times of year the different types of fae are more powerful." Harry read from his notes.

"Correct. The Sidhe are the nobles of these ruling classes. They are one of the few species were the males and females are completely different. The females are more powerful than the males and there are Queens that rule the Sidhe, not Kings. The female Sidhe are very difficult to describe because they can constantly change shape. The best I can describe is that the females are more a part of a piece of land than they are a physical body. They can change their shape into any form they want and can have children with and species animal or not on this planet. They don't really have what would normally be considered a womb. The land and the female Sidhe are one. The children that she has are literally grown underground and then birthed through a type of plant that only appears on land embodied by a Sidhe." Remus explained calmly while Harry wrote this down.

"The Queens have more land than any of the other females and often have large amounts of children before they die. Their successors are chosen from the full blooded female Sidhe they have made. It is not always the first that is chosen, but like most magical species, the most powerful. Female Sidhe are known as the greatest manipulator in the magical realm. They will try to make deals with anyone and usually come out on top. Never get fooled into sealing a deal with a Sidhe there are often unforeseen consequences." Remus continued.

"So the females are the dangerous ones?" Harry asked.

"No, I said they were the more powerful ones which is true, but the males can be just as dangerous if not more. Females will rarely get into a fight they usually have others fight for them and male Sidhe are usually the ones dragged into that kind of fight. While they can't change shape like the female Sidhe can they are amazing with illusions. A male Sidhe can trick you into believing that you are the richest person in the world or that you want to kill yourself. They are the most dangerous at a distance. They are a bit stronger than humans, but not very good at close range magic. If you can get close enough to catch them off guard then you can probably win." Remus took a piece of paper from his stack and showed it to Harry.

It was a picture of what as male Sidhe looked like. They looked mostly human, a bit taller and paler than normal. His hair was switching between colors as were his eyes. They had pointed ears like the muggle fairy tales about elves, but the obvious differences between the species was subtle. You could look at the picture and know it wasn't human, but it looked close enough that you couldn't really say why.

Harry loved the way that Remus taught about other species. He often went over their government structure and abilities before moving to their description. Harry felt much calmer about going to American now that Remus and Sirius had taught him about other species and how to react to them. It was surprising to learn what would seem like normal gestures to another wizard could be offensive to other species.

"I think Sirius went over fae insults and swear words in his class today right?" Remus waited till he nodded again. "Okay good, let's talk about weaknesses in the Sidhe and common tactics to defend you."

It went like that for the rest of the class before Remus let Harry go. They walked together down to the meeting room where Dumbledore had called a meeting.

"Welcome, welcome. Everyone sit please. We need to get started and this is promising to be a very long meeting so it would be best if you just sat down where ever you can find a spot." Dumbledore paused for everyone to settle before continuing. "As everyone knows Mr. Potter is going to take a test for his new school tomorrow and I thought it would be best if we had a meeting before the trial." Dumbledore turned to Harry. "My boy, as I am sure you figured out there has been a lot going on this summer. I will try to explain some of it to you now, but I beg you to try and stay calm throughout the meeting. I would rather you didn't take the potion just yet, but if you feel too emotional I would ask that you take it."

Harry frowned, that didn't seem like a good thing. Why would Dumbledore be warning him not to get angry even before they started saying anything?

"I feel with these things, it is always best to start at the beginning. Do you remember after the 3rd task last year in the Hospital Wing?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, the Ministry was there, he accused me of lying to him about Voldemort." Harry said.

"Yes, well, he isn't the Ministry anymore. Lucius Malfoy took over the position about 3 weeks about. About a week after the tournament ended and Hogwarts closed Voldemort launched an attack. The Ministry was too busy trying to cover up his rebirth that no one was prepared. He hit hard and fast. Diagon Alley was destroyed in the same day. Former Minister Fudge was assassinated the same day as was most of his staff. "Dumbledore paused to give Harry some time to absorb it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked softly while getting angrier. "I deserved to know, Voldemort is my problem just as much as anyone else maybe even more so. How could you keep this from me? Any of you?" Harry took deep breaths to try and calm down, but it wasn't working. The room kept getting hotter.

"Harry, I know this is a lot to take in, but I beg you to breathe through it. I have been keeping this from you and for a reason." Dumbledore paused and gave Harry some time. "Harry, when I found you in the Shrieking Shack that night I was surprised to even find you alive. The Ministry had been looking for you as well, or what is left of the Ministry which is almost all Death Eaters now. We have a few spies in ideal positions at the Ministry, but we try to keep them out of there."

"Headmaster, stop evading the question, why did you keep this from me?" Harry asked softly, the wind had been taken out of his sails and while he was still angry he wasn't as bad.

"Yes. Harry did you see what you just did there? You calmed yourself down without having to use a potion. This is one of the main reasons I wanted to put off telling you. When I found you that night, I was reminded that you were still such a child. You are a child whose had most of his childhood stripped away, but you are still young. Please try to understand, my boy." Dumbledore left it there.

"I'm not a child, Headmaster; I lost that the same night I got swallowed by a Dementor. Whether you believe it or not shouldn't matter, this is my life, my entire world and you are saying in a few short months it has gone from bad to impossible." Harry was more tired than he had been in three weeks. Harry thought he could trust Dumbledore, trust his friends, but if they could keep something this big from him…

"Harry, please try to understand, this was my decision alone. Do not blame your friends for this choice, they couldn't have told you even if they wanted to. They had been sworn to secrecy the night that they heard you were coming here." Dumbledore gave a loud sigh, losing years off his frame in seconds. "I am sorry that you believe this was a bad decision, but I did not. I will stand by my belief that when you arrived here in the beginning of the summer to had too much to think or worry about without including the state of the Wizarding World. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Well, I would ask what else you have been keeping from me, but my guess is that you would just lie to me again." Harry turned his head away from the group.

"Mr. Potter, I know this is hard to accept right now, but there are certain things that we cannot tell you: things that could be dangerous for you to know, or that could be dangerous for others if you knew. You are just going to have to trust the fact that we have more experience dealing with these matters than you do." Professor McGonagall was just as strict as usual, but she had a bit of softness to her voice, like she wasn't fully behind the decision.

Everyone sat in silence for a few minutes to absorb what had been sad. Both Ron and Hermione kept looking in Harry's direction to see what he was feeling. After a few minutes Harry broke the silence.

"That can't be all you called this meeting to say. What else do we need to go over?" Harry asked calmer than before.

"There is something very important that we need to talk about. Your name." Dumbledore responded.

"My name?" Harry asked confused.

"Potter, stop being a dunderhead, you know exactly what we mean. You name is a little more recognizable than we would like, especially since you are running from the Ministry. We need to get you out of the country and that means we need to change your name." Snape was still his snarky self.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Harry was at a loss.

"How about something connected to your family?" Molly Weasley said sentimentally.

"No, that would be too obvious while Potter looks different, his new name needs to completely unrelated." Snape sneered.

"Well, how about something from Greek Mythology like Hercules?" Hermione said. Almost at once the rest of the room broke into argument.

"No, that is a ridiculous name…"

"Well if we are going that route than how about Norse Mythology or Roman…"

"What about Ashley?" George Weasley added.

"Or Maybe Henrietta…" Fred decided to chip in.

"Or Harriet…"George responded.

"Who let the twins into this meeting?"

The argument went on for several more minutes until Hermione final said something they agreed with.

"Okay, Merlin's Beard, this is going nowhere fast. How about we all put our suggestions for a name on a sheet of paper and let Harry choose. If he doesn't like any of those we will make another list. Agreed?" There was some grumbling around the table, but everyone agreed. At this point Harry had given up on having any say in his new name and just sort of went along with them.

It took a few minutes for them to get set up and it was decided that there would be two lists, one for first names and one for last names. People even wrote down their reasons for choosing the names on the side.

Harry took a few minutes to look through the names on the first list trying to find something normal and as plain as possible, the entire point was that he wanted to blend in not stick out. There were a lot of weird names, even some that looked cool and impressive, but after some thought he just didn't think being called a name like _Altus _or _Ranius_. He went over the list three times crossing out names before he finally decided on one he liked.

"I think this is best… Jude" Some people in the room looked disappointed while Hermione looked excited.

"Just curious, Harry, why that name?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, it seemed plain and normal, like anyone could be called that. The entire point to a new name is not to draw attention to myself right? Besides I thought Hermione's reasoning for the name was nice." Harry smiled at Hermione who brightened up for the first time in weeks.

"What was that?" Sirius asked.

"Well, Jude, is the Patron Saint of Lost Causes or Desperate Cases. He is called upon only in the direst of circumstances. It seemed appropriate for the circumstance. Harry will only be called when something bad has happened right?" Hermione was glad that her name had been chosen out of all of them.

Harry nodded and turned to the second list of names. They decided that he could choose his middle name at a later date, so the second list was for last names. This was both easier and harder than the first name. It was difficult to choose between a plain, simple name like _Smith_ and a name that had more meaning. It was turning out to be a difficult choice until he ran across Sirius's name choice.

"I chose Crux." Harry smiled at Sirius who came over and sat next to him.

"You are part of my family Harry, I hope you know that. I just wanted you to feel like it." Sirius smiled at him. "It is the name of a constellation like all names in the Black family are after constellations or stars. I have learned a lot of the names from Astronomy that I never wanted to because of my family. I might as well put it to good use." Sirius hugged Harry how hugged him back.

"Alright then, Harry, I think your full name will be Judius Crux, Nickname: Jude. Are we all agreed?" Dumbledore smiled at the rest of the group as they nodded.

For the first time in a long time Harry felt at ease and happy with his decision. He was finally part of a family, one that he created.

* * *

AN: Okay, this was a long chapter and I hated it. Stuff happens that's important though so you have to read it. I have 2 important things to talk about so I hope you read this note.

1. I NEED a Beta! I have realized that my characters are starting to get OOC, mostly Dumbledore :(. I really need someone to read over my story and edit. I know I have grammar problems and spelling mistakes and I would really like if if someone read over my stuff before I put it out there. If you are interested _at all_ please contact me, shoot me a review or PM I read both.

2. I need some reader input. Would you like for me to continue this length of post which has ranged from about 7000 ~ 10000 words and at this schedule. Which is going to slow down considerably, so once every month or so... OR would you like me to change to able a 3000 word length post ever week or 2. I know which one I prefer to read, but I have decided to leave this up to the audience to decide.

Now that those issues are out of the way... in the next chapter we will finally be meeting some of Harry's new teachers and depending on the length of the post also the move into the new school...if he gets in... jk.

EDIT: IMPORTANT: For those of you that read the first posting of this chapter. I decided to change the name. I was always a back and forth for me and I think this is the better decision. I hope you still like the story...

Please Read and Review, this is important.

~Rain


	5. Just a Test

**Author's Note:**

If you like this story than I really encourage you to find and read Bloody Skies by Toki Mirage and A Second Chance at Life by Miranda Fairgold. There are others out there that are also well written but these are the two best that I have found.

Warnings: There will be slash, but only with OCs, my characters. It will be present in this story so if you are homophobic you probably won't like this story. For those of you confused: Harry will not be in any relationship with cannon or OC characters yet, Slash or Het. There will be violence and gore. I will add warnings when they come up.

I can almost guaranty that someone will not like this story. That is okay with me I could care less about what you like. This is my story and I will do what I want with it.

This story is cannon until the summer after 4th year. I will be messing with the time line a bit and I still include horcruxes.

Please Review, it inspires us writers, but if you are just going to flame then you can shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

IMPORTANT: If you didn't read the changed last chapter, please go do it. Nothing has really changed except for Harry's name. I decided I didn't like the flow and changed it. Not a massive change, but still there. Go Look!

Recap: Harry has once again done the impossible and survived a Dementor's kiss. He escaped, but his cousin didn't. He went home to find that sometime during the night his relatives had been murdered. He escapes, but is later found by Dumbledore. He is taken the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters and told that he is danger to himself and others. He has Magically Matured which makes him very powerful, but because it happened so young and without training he has no control over his magic. He has to go to a new school, but before he can get there he to goes through a 2 month training spree with the members of the Order.

Disclaimer: I don't own the work of J.K. Rowling and never will. In no way will I purposefully try to plagiarize anyone else's work. All ideas about how magic works or the Magical Realm are my own, if you decide that you like these ideas enough to use in your own story I request that you send me a review first and I will say yes. Not that I actually think anyone will use my ideas, but please if you want to go ahead.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Just a Test

* * *

**

_July 29__th__, 1995_

For the first time since Harry had been here, Grimmauld Place was silent. It was rather disconcerting. It was even more confusing because there was the largest amount of people he had ever seen there in the same room, all standing quietly. Even the twins weren't making their usual jokes, but given the twitches that plagued the both of them it wouldn't last very long. It was early in the morning and almost the entire Order had gathered to see Harry off. They were currently waiting on the Headmaster to get back.

There were many levels of protection for this meeting and everyone was bit on edge that Harry couldn't bring any bodyguards with him. The Headmistress of Iskola had told Dumbledore in no uncertain terms that Harry must take the test by himself without any help from his friends or family. Of course, she still didn't know his name so it wasn't in those exact words, but the Headmaster had taken her warning to heart. The test was going to be held in an unknown location. Only the Headmaster and Headmistress would be privy to the location and the protections that covered it.

There were only two portkeys made to go into that room and they could only take one person apiece. There could be no more than 2 people in the room at all times. Harry had been told that the room would be pretty bland with no doors or windows and to not get scared by it.

The Headmaster went first to make sure that everything was safe by the time that Harry went there. He would come back after he was done with his meeting with the Headmistress and give the portkey to Harry.

-AD-

Albus looked around the beige room thoroughly. There was a table and chair in the center of the room. Off to one side was a worn couch and a cold box. In case someone got thirsty. He was early to this meeting so he conjured an armchair in the center area of the room and waited for his compatriot to arrive.

The Headmistress of Iskola arrived in her usual dramatic fashion. Her long black hair fell straight down her back and curled around her face like it was trained to. Elina Moscorvo was just as beautiful as she was deadly. The born vampire that was nearly half a millennia old had a deadly grace embedded in her every movement. Albus had met her before, many times. The conventions that were held for magical education drew together some of the strangest people in the magical and wizarding world. They had known each other for nearly a century and while not friends were as close as acquaintances could get.

While Albus had grown older and greyer, Elina still looked as young and as beautiful as she had when he first saw her so long ago. Albus stood in greeting and held out his hand.

"Elina, my dear, still as gorgeous as I remember," Albus took the hand that had been offered to him and quickly flipped it over and placed a soft kiss to the back of it.

"Albus, old friend, ever the charmer, you flatter me too much I fear I am becoming too old to keep up with a young man like yourself." Elina smiled and took her hand back.

"Nonsense, you don't look a day over 200." Albus smiled at her and waved his wand to conjure another chair. It was much fancier than the one he had made for himself, high back and covered in lush cushions. "Now, dear, let's get down to business." Albus smiled and waved his wand in the air off to his right. Without a second thought he reached into the middle of the area and his hand disappeared. It appeared again holding a folder.

"Is this the boy?" Elina took the folder from Dumbledore and opened it. Immediately, her eyes widened in astonishment. "Albus, you can't be serious." She looked at Albus searchingly.

"Unfortunately, that folder is one hundred percent true. I have seen and tested him thoroughly. He reached his Magical Maturity before he reached his 15th birthday. I was surprised when you accepted him without questioning me as to why I submitted him." Albus leaned back in his chair and waited for her to read through the folder.

"How have you kept him secret? If anyone knew about this he would be on every magical paper in the world. A wizard with so much power and so untrained the consequences of keeping him hidden… Albus, remember when they announced your Magical Maturity to the world. At 31 they were already calling you the next Merlin. Do you think the response to him will be any better?" Elina asked, still reading.

"This is why it is so imperative that I leave him in capable hands. His power is growing fast and while he has gained a semi-control over it in two months, I fear that it is growing too fast for him to contain. He doesn't have a focus and the magic is trying to compensate by making him better at everything. He is almost a natural at this point and it is only going to get worse. If we don't find a way to slow down his evolution fast, well being in a new school will be the least of his troubles." Dumbledore rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I can understand why you want me to have him. Anywhere else would be a danger, but here…Albus I'm afraid that he might end up worse for coming to this school. The competition is fierce and many of the students are prejudice against wizards, considering them weak." Elina had schooled her features back into the impassive mask that had characterized her for a century.

"I understand your fear, but you must understand mine. Anywhere else and the boy could cause irreparable damage. They wouldn't be able to calm him down quick enough, or contain him if he did explode. And once he did…they would come for him, try to destroy him and they would curse themselves in trying. His passive magic is already slipping through the shields of those decades older than him. I would hate to find out what his active magic will do to people that are purposefully trying to harm him. His magic will try at all costs to defend its master and I cannot allow that kind of threat in the presence of school children, mine or others." Albus explained in calm tones. "Besides, your student's might learn something of wizarding kind from this adventure."

"Albus don't be daft of course I will take him. My only question is why you did not introduce your find to the world yourself? Why let me take the credit for such a discovery?" Elina closed the folder, holding it in her hands.

"That is not a question that I can answer. I'm sorry." Albus answered.

"Well, then what is this boy's name?" Elina asked.

"Judius Crux. He would be a fifth year student if not for his maturity. I and a few of my closest allies have trained him in essentials for the school. Is there anything you would suggest I teach him before the school year starts?" Albus asked. Elina wrinkled her nose at the obvious lie about the boy's name, but wrote it on the folder anyway.

"Don't get ahead of yourself; he must still go through a trail, to make sure that you are not lying of course. However, if he passes I will send you my tester's assessment of the boy." Elina stood.

"Much appreciated. Elina, would you mind terribly if I waited and checked out your tester for myself? Just to see if he is trust worthy?" Albus asked calmly, standing up as well. Without another movement the two chairs that they had been resting on disappeared.

"Understood Albus, I will send him along shortly." Elina turned and just as she was about to touch her portkey Albus's voice interrupted him.

"Headmistress, I want to remind you that I care for this boy like my own son." Albus let go of the magic that he was keeping contained inside of him. His eyes turned into glaciers of blue magic, cold and harsh. "If you decide not to accept him into your school I will expect that folder back, as well as your memories of this conversation. Are we agreed?"

Elina's hand had frozen close to the portkey. It was the only sign that she allowed herself to show. She nodded quickly and touched her portkey, leaving the bland room quicker that she had arrived.

-RO-

Ryinon Oberon lazed in the conjured chair in the entrance hall. He didn't understand why he had to be the one to test this new student. That was usually down by one of the new teachers, as a semi-hazing ritual. He had been here for almost as long as the Headmistress herself, and he had two very sensitive experiments going on in his rooms. He had risked it by even sitting here instead of up there.

As one of the few Sidhe teachers on the staff and definitely the oldest, he was who they Headmistress always came to for advice. He had been surprised when the Headmistress asked to see him during the very short amount of him he had off for the holidays. She knew better than to interrupt his experiments, so whatever she needed must be important. It surprised him even more that the Headmistress asked him to take time off for a new student exam. It wasn't very often that the Headmistress asked one of her older professors to test a student and it was unprecedented that she asked him.

He yawned and stretched again. It was entirely too early for this. The sun hadn't even risen yet, why should he? Because the Headmistress asked him and whenever the Headmistress asked for something you gave it to her, no matter what. It was also sure to be interesting, which let's face it, after living for 235 years, there was very little that interested him anymore. He wondered how the Headmistress stood it; after all she was reaching 500, though she said that after awhile she stopped counting.

Ryinon was surprised into sitting up straight when the Headmistress appeared in a portkey whirl. Only see could appear so graceful after using a portkey, not a hair out of place, though it might have something to do with the fact that she had been on the team that made them.

His eyes opened a little when he realized that she was shivering. Vampires couldn't get cold, which only meant…

"What could possibly scare you?" After 2 centuries Ryinon still had the tact of a teenager.

"I was just reminded why Albus Dumbledore is considered one of the most dangerous individuals on the planet." The Headmistress shook herself a little and took back control of her body. Ryinon noticed for the first time the folder that she was holding. He couldn't see what it contained but did read the name that graced the cover.

"So who is Judius Crux? Our mystery student?" Ryinon didn't stay on the topic of Albus Dumbledore for too long. He had never met the man, but he thought it ridiculous that the man was considered so powerful, he was just a _wizard_.

"It would seem so, a wizard boy that Albus found and referred to us."

Ryinon crinkled his nose at the news. He never much took to wizards, but he didn't have much contact with them outside of the school. Always holed away in those little communities of their, never showing their faces to the rest of the Magical Realm. Always considering themselves better somehow than the rest of the world. With the amount of skill that he had seen from them, it was any wonder that they didn't destroy themselves within moments.

"Why on Earth did you pull me out of bed, to interview a _wizard_? Can't he just go to another school, that way none of us have to deal with the incompetency?" Ryinon asked.

"Unfortunately, that is just the problem he cannot go to another school." The Headmistress turned to go up the stair and handed him the portkey. "He is almost 15 years old, so try not to destroy him too quickly, hmm?"

"Elina, please, just answer me, what makes this boy so special that he has your undivided attention?" Ryinon asked coldly.

"Oh no, that would ruin the surprise. You always think so lowly of wizards and I think this is a fault that must be fixed, if one of my teachers has this prejudice than what is stopping the students from thinking the same thing. Indeed I think it imperative that this boy go to our school, that is, if he is what he says he is." The Headmistress had on one of her coveted smirks as she turned to the stairs. "Also, Ryinon, Headmaster Dumbledore would like to meet you before he allows you to see the boy. Try to make a good impression, ta-ta." As she waved, Ryinon felt a tug at his navel and away he went.

The first thing he saw was shockingly bright green robes. The ludicrous looking, old man in front of him was not at all what he expected. How could the Headmistress be even slightly intimidated by this man? His long white beard and hair were not helping the whole Gandalf guise he was wearing. Just when he thought he had seen it all a multi-colored parrot flew across the front of his robes and Ryinon caught a glimpse of the bizarre socks he was wearing.

"Are you _the_ Albus Dumbledore? Or just _an_ Albus Dumbledore?" Ryinon had never made excuses for his humor and doubted he ever would, no matter how much trouble it got him into. He was surprised when the strange man in front of his let out a loud laugh. His eyes were twinkling something fierce and instinctively wanted to laugh with him.

That was when he noticed it. What he thought was just moisture in the room tripled and suddenly realized just how out matched he was. This man could rip him to pieces in seconds and he hadn't even realized what he was getting into. His mouth dropped up in surprise and his mind kept flashing back to the picture of his Headmistress shivering in _fear._ There was a _reason_ for this fear, and Ryinon felt a bit of a shiver crawl up his own spine uninhibited.

"Oh dear, you are rather amusing. I feel we would have gotten along quiet well in other circumstances. As it is I'm afraid I am going to go something that you will not enjoy at all." Dumbledore let out a sad shake of his head and Ryinon felt the magic around him close in. He thought about fighting for a second. "Please, try not to fight, I understand how hard that is, but it will make this painful when it doesn't need to be."

Ryinon eyes were wide and surprised. After a minute or two of rough handling Ryinon understood what Dumbledore was doing, a _Soul Search_ Ryinon was trying to get his head around this fact. Who in their right minds would teach a Wizard to Soul Search? Ryinon debated with himself for a few second on whether to fight or not, but decided he didn't want to die over useless information anyways. He had never hid who he was from anyone and he certainly wasn't going to start now.

The magic let go as quickly as it grabbed on once he was done. It went back to its neutral state.

"Hmm, yes I think you will be fine. I appreciate your understanding about the test. I know this must seem quite strange to you, but I really had to know. I think I have already spent too much time here. It was nice to meet you Mr. Oberon. Jude will be along shortly." Indeed Dumbledore had _met_ him, in all senses of the word.

Before Ryinon could even speak a word of goodbye Dumbledore was whisked from the room.

Ryinon had enough energy to collapse on the worn couch that he saw. He didn't understand what all the fuss was about. It was just a wizard boy; surely it didn't require so much attention from some of the most powerful beings in the whole world. Ryinon contemplated over wizards, he had thought that he understood them, but Ryinon realized after this meeting that he really didn't know them at all. He realized just why it was that wizards got their own hidden world, even why some of the oldest beings he knew were scared when they mentioned Dumbledore.

He felt magic gathering itself in the center of the room just were Dumbledore left from. He sat up straight and tried to look as uninterested as possible. This boy didn't need any inflation to, what was sure to be, his already huge head.

Unlike when he first saw Dumbledore he noticed the boy's power before he noticed his appearance. In that instant he felt all previous notions he had about wizards vanish. This boy was _powerful_ and not in the quiet, controlled and organized tidal wave way that Dumbledore was. No, this boy was a _volcano_, violent, uncontrolled and spontaneous ready to explode at any minute. Ryinon felt his teeth ache, this boy was undeniably dangerous if his magic was anything to go by. He wasn't as powerful as Dumbledore, but he was about 50 times more dangerous. Ryinon could already feel the headache coming on and the need to leave had already invaded his conscience.

As he finally focused on the boy he was once again surprised. What was it with wizards and their fashion sense? Unlike the other wizard boys that Ryinon had met, this one was covered in threadbare robes. They were worn down and appeared to be about 4 inches short. It seemed like he was keeping with the wizarding tradition to wear absolutely ridiculous muggle clothing. Who taught these people? Ryinon sigh, _No one that was the problem_. Except, well these looked to be _rags_ and again, well worn. He sighed as he looked at the holey shirt and jeans. These looked like hand me downs and not very good ones.

The boy himself, well that was a surprise. The boy had messy black hair, more of a mop than anything else. He had a nice face, but was obviously just coming into puberty and hadn't really settled yet. Ryinon was once again surprise by just how _young_ he looked. This boy appeared to be younger than the 14 that the Headmistress claimed and Ryinon hoped that this was somehow a mistake. That he could awaken from this nightmare any second, because the thought that this boy was so powerful and uncontrolled scared Ryinon to death.

"Mr. Crux, please try to keep control of yourself. I understand that it is a difficult concept to grasp, but you don't need to show off how powerful you are every second." Ryinon tried to sneer at the boy, but failed his survival instincts would not allow him to insult this creature.

"Oh Merlin, I am so sorry." He appeared to close his for a few seconds and Ryinon let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding when the magic that had been floating around the room flew back into the boy. He opened his eyes again and Ryinon was startled by just how _green_ they were. He could almost be mistaken for a fae if you didn't see his hair. They were a deep emerald green and Ryinon had to shake his head away from them. They were old man eyes and they did not belong in that face.

"So, you are here to take an entrance exam for Iskola Preparatory Academy. I hope you are prepared?" Ryinon asked snidely. It was easier to get into his teacher persona now that the magic wasn't clouding the room.

"Yes sir. Ummm, may I ask your name?" This boy, Crux, asked.

"You may call me Professor Oberon. Are we understood?" Ryinon waited only a few seconds for the frantic nod before continuing. "I would normally do a magic test, just to see if you are powerful enough to take the course load, but I think we might have the opposite problem. We will do a written exam first. It covers a number of subjects and don't be afraid to answer I don't know to any question, it is expected that you will not know the answer to every question."

The boy nodded and settled down to the table. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen. Ryinon looked on surprise, most wizard were still stuck a few centuries back, using things like _quills_ and _parchment_.

"Professor Oberon, is it okay if I use scratch paper?" Crux asked politely. He was turning out to be the most polite young wizard he had ever met.

"If you believe it necessary then by all means," Ryinon nodded to the boy from his position on the couch. He was surprised again when the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a notebook that had no reason to fit into there. Crux appeared to notice his shock and spoke up.

"It's bigger on the inside, sir." Crux almost smiled as he said this.

"Obviously, Mr. Crux, you can start at any time." Ryinon handed the boy the test and lay back on the couch.

Taking the exam was only part of the test. The second part of the test was to hold up their mental shield while taking it, to see if they could concentrate on two exams at once. This was one of the main reasons that younger teachers did the exam. It was often too easy for one of the older professors to destroy their shields.

He reached out with his mind and as he thought he encountered very weak shields. He smiled almost gleefully and entered the boy's head with little more than a push. He was then taken by a shock to discover he was on an empty street. In fact it sort of looked like a London street he had seen awhile ago.

-HP-JC-

Harry had barely noticed the professor when he slipped into Harry's mind about 4 hours ago, when the Professor, that reminded him eerily of Snape, had tripped over his alarm wire. It was like a trip wire around his mind that Harry had placed there to make any unwelcome intruders believe that they had gotten past his shields.

He thought it was short sighted of many Legimens to just assume because his shield was so weak he was unprotected. But as Professor Snape had once said, "Never criticize your enemies for their mistakes, take advantage of them."

Harry smiled as he thought about his Occlumency lessons. They had started off bad, but after a time of getting to know Snape's dry wit Harry often found he had fun. Professor Snape was also surprised by the lessons, but was happy to finally have what he considered a dedicated student, or at least Harry thought he was Happy, it was so hard to tell with Professor Snape.

Harry sighed for a second and looked at the passed out Professor on the couch. Harry decided it was best just to go get him, because there was really no way of telling when he would figure out how to get back. Harry felt his magic gently pick him up and levitate him in the air. Harry figured out a while ago that he always meditated better floating. Harry concentrated on his head quarters. The rest of the world fell away. Just him in the darkness, no reason to think of anyone else, focusing on the room he needed. He had to find the Professor before he could do anything else.

Harry opened his eyes to find himself in the room that he asked for. It was a room covered in screens, every screen showing a different part of his little world. It was still a work in progress, but it was building quickly. Harry spent a lot of his meditation time in this room. Trying to figure out a new defense or fix a loophole in an old one. He settled into the comfortable chair in the middle of the room, it was imaginary, but it helped Harry concentrate. Time worked differently in his little world it was one of the first defense he made. Then the screens started changing. Every screen flipped through hundreds of images in a second. In the real world it wouldn't have been possible for Harry to glace at every screen, let alone every picture. This wasn't the real world though.

Got him.

He was still stuck in level 1, Harry was a little disappointed. He wanted someone to test his defenses at a lower level. Harry gather up his power and appeared next to his Professor.

Professor Oberon had somehow got stuck in one of his infinite hallways. Harry almost laughed, but decided his Professor might not appreciate that as make as Harry.

"Having some trouble Professor?" Harry asked innocently. The Professor turned around sharply and looked at Harry in surprise.

"Mr. Crux this is one of the most ingenious mind defenses I have ever come across. How long have I been in here?" Professor Oberon did look really impressed and Harry blushed. He was glad that someone appreciated the effort he had put into it.

"About 4 hours Professor. I was done with the first part of the test and wanted to make sure that you hadn't gotten lost." Harry grinned at the amazement that Professor Oberon was showing at his defenses.

"Absolutely incredible, it feels like I've been here for days sometimes, and other times it only feels like seconds." The Professor said amazed.

"Yes, time fluctuation is one of the level 1 defenses, as is the infinite hallway. Of course, the hallway isn't really infinite it only gives that impression." Harry patted one of the doors, the door changed from the plain white that it was, to a strong wooden door. He opened the door and welcomed Professor Oberon inside.

"What do you mean level 1, there are more levels?" Professor Oberon had gathers his wits and was staring impressed at the room behind the door. It was covered in pillows of all types, shapes, and colors. Even the ceilings were cushioned. This was one of Harry's proudest achievements, every single pillow that he ever remembered seeing was in this room somewhere.

"Yes, I'm almost done with the 5th and I hope to have the 7th done by the time I get to school. I always did really like that infinite hallway though. I spent a lot of time on it." Harry flopped down one the mess of pillows. He went to the room every time he got over whelmed with the world. It helped to celebrate the little things and a room full of pillows certainly fit that bill.

"Interesting, how does the hallway work?" Professor Oberon asked.

"Well, I have only been in one office building and I always thought it was very repetitive so I took a piece of hallway from that memory and placed it in the buildings. Every time you walk into a building on the first level it transports you to this section of hallway. The section itself isn't really that long, only about 5 or so doors, but then I make it loop. Once you get to the end of the section it transports you back to the beginning and vice versa. All of the doors do the same thing. Just transport you back to the beginning. Expect for the red door. I'm sure you noticed it. That door leads back to the real world. I always try to leave an exit open just in case you want to leave. After all I'm not trying to keep you in my mind." Harry answered. He was glad to be able to explain it to someone.

"Wow, and this is just the first level?" Professor Oberon sat against some pillows, absorbing the comfort.

"Yes, anyway I felt that I should check on you, so would you like to continue trying to defeat my defenses or do you want to go back to the real world? I still have the second half of the test to complete, but I want to see if you'll be okay." Harry added.

"I think I will leave and come back to try this level again." The Professor told Harry. "However, I think I want to hang out in this room a little more. "How will I tell when I reach the next level?"

Harry laughed as he answered. "I thought I would make it obvious just once. The first level is completely black and white. The second level is colored in. Professor, before I go, I just wanted to ask…well…I mean… why aren't you being a hard ass?" Harry blushed some more.

It was Oberon's time to laugh. For the first time since Harry had met him Harry could see the mischievous fae. The Professor had purple and dark blue hair, but his eyes were so light green that they almost appeared white. His tall stature and ears made it obvious that he wasn't human and Harry had been instantly glad that Remus had told him about the Sidhe before he left. As the first Sidhe that Harry had ever met Harry tried to be as nice as possible, but the Professor didn't seem to care for him at all. Here in his mind though…it almost seemed as though the man had turned into a completely different person.

"Mr. Crux, out there I am your teacher and I have a reputation to uphold. I will see you in the spring and all the students know just how hard I am. I cannot give special privileges to anyone, including you. Here though… I can be who ever I like. I can appreciate your defenses and be fascinated by the ideas I see here. In here, you can call me Ryinon." The now proclaimed Ryinon leaned against the pillows.

"Well, then in here you can call me Jude." Harry smiled at the Professor. It was time to start using his new name anyway.

"Alright then, Jude, go take your test. I will be out in a second." Ryinon sighed against the pillows and rested. Harry shook his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them he was back in the beige room with the sleeping Professor. "Any clues as to where I will find the next level?"

"Well, Professor, back to work. You should look at your reflection sometime I think I see the beginnings of grey hairs." Harry stretched as he was lowed from the sky and sat down in the chair. His magic curled comfortably around him and soothed him.

Another 4 hours had passed in relative silence. The Professor had come out once and then entered again. Harry was finally done with the test and turned it over on the table. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had been following the Professor's movements ever since he had gotten into the second level of his defenses. He called it his mirror world.

The first level was completely in black and white and the next level was a complete mirror of that world except in color. Harry had decided the best entrance would be the one that most over looked. There was one puddle of water in the cityscape that was the first level of his defenses. If you looked into it you would be pulled into level 2. Harry had probably spent the most time on this level than any of his other levels. Though it was mostly for his own comfort and defense. This was the level that had secret doors and hidden passages that could take you to any place in Harry's world if you knew the way. The room full of pillows was on this level.

The Professor had found the puddle and traveled through the puddle about 3 hours ago, but still hadn't come back up. Whether or not he actually thought he could find his way to the next level was debatable. Harry had followed him around for awhile and he seemed more intent on discovering secret passages than traveling to the next level.

He had gotten so used to the Professor traveling in his mind that he just gave a quick tug to the body and waited for the Professor to respond. He didn't have to wait long within a few seconds the Professor was soaring out of his mind and into his own body.

"Thank you, Mr. Crux for your allowance of my curiosity. I see you are done with the test. Let's see how you did." Professor Oberon grabbed the papers in front of him and stacked them in front of him. He then gathered his magic. Unlike wizards the Sidhe had no need for wands, their magic surrounded them at all time. Mother Earth gave magic to the Sidhe and they had great control of the magic of the land.

The magic gathered around the test and what seemed to be a breeze flew through the box of a room. The papers fluttered on the desk and graded themselves. Professor Oberon looked at the top page and then gave a purse of his lips.

"Very well, Mr. Crux, you will hear from us in the next 2 days on whether you've been accepted to the program or not." Professor Oberon nodded and gave Harry back his portkey. "I hope to see you soon."

As the pull on Harry's navel dragged him back to Grimmauld place he could've sworn he saw a smirk of happiness on Ryinon's face.

* * *

AN: Hey there, my wonderful gorgeous readers. How are you today? Good, good. Happy birthday. I hope every thing is perfect. Me? Oh no you don't need to ask... but if you insist...Well, I'm fine. Great actually, it is almost time for Thanksgiving and I am READY to go home. So ready. I live in a college dorm about 9 hours away by driving so I get to take a plane...yey... :( with the TSA apparently turned into perverts I am not looking forward to it.

Well, life goes on I suppose. This chapter was inspired by the seventh Harry Potter movie: Deathly Hallows Part 1. And the quote for the seventh book that still gets me all tingly inside.

"Of course it's in your head, Harry, by why on Earth should that mean its not real?" - Dumbledore, Deathly Hallows.

Okay enough about me. Let's here about you. That's right YOU! Right now for a limited time only! The review button is FREE that's right, you didn't misread: FREE. Just one little click and you can talk to the most important person on this page, ME. I could even respond to you. I bet you would like that, wouldn't you?

Remember a limited time only... FREE... I swear it.

No...no takers... okay then, I'll just go cry in a corner and never write again! Think of the consequences of your actions...you drove me to this...I had no choice.

Goodnight everyone, I am going to go to sleep now because as you've probably figured out I need some rest. Sleep well, I certainly will, and REMEMBER reviewing is FREE but it gives his author food for a new chapter.

Who has 2 thumbs and is thoroughly tired, but satisfied,

~Rain


	6. Let's Get Started

**Author's Note:**

If you like this story than I really encourage you to find and read Bloody Skies by Toki Mirage and A Second Chance at Life by Miranda Fairgold. There are others out there that are also well written but these are the two best that I have found.

Warnings: There will be slash, but only with OCs, my characters. It will be present in this story so if you are homophobic you probably won't like this story. For those of you confused: Harry will not be in any relationship with cannon or OC characters yet, Slash or Het. There will be violence and gore. I will add warnings when they come up.

I can almost guaranty that someone will not like this story. That is okay with me I could care less about what you like. This is my story and I will do what I want with it.

This story is cannon until the summer after 4th year. I will be messing with the time line a bit and I still include horcruxes.

Please Review, it inspires us writers, but if you are just going to flame then you can shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

Recap: Harry has once again done the impossible and survived a Dementor's kiss. He escaped, but his cousin didn't. He went home to find that sometime during the night his relatives had been murdered. He escapes, but is later found by Dumbledore. He is taken the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters and told that he is danger to himself and others. He has Magically Matured which makes him very powerful, but because it happened so young and without training he has no control over his magic. He has to go to a new school, but before he can get there he goes through a 2 month training spree with the members of the Order.

After a test of his powers and knowledge the newly christened Judius Crux is off to the next great adventure.

Disclaimer: I don't own the work of J.K. Rowling and never will. In no way will I purposefully try to plagiarize anyone else's work. All ideas about how magic works or the Magical Realm are my own, if you decide that you like these ideas enough to use in your own story I request that you send me a review first and I will say yes. Not that I actually think anyone will use my ideas, but please if you want to go ahead.

**Chapter 6: Let's Get Started**

* * *

_July 31__st__, 1995_

Harry smiled lightly at the organized chaos that surrounded him. It was his birthday at last, and all of Grimmauld Place was in a flurry. Mrs. Weasley had been on a personal quest to make it his best birthday ever, but Harry didn't really think the competition had much going for it. After all this would be his first birthday spent with people that actually liked him. Though, his dismal previous birthdays weren't the only reason that the Order was trying to make this day great. He was leaving for his new school on the 5th of August and this was the last day that everyone would be together to celebrate.

Harry had tried to help earlier in the day, but had quickly been rejected and told to go play. Of course, the rest of his friends were busy helping so there was really no one he could play with. He had settled down in one of the chairs in the corner to watch the madness and read one of the many books that his tutors had assigned to him.

"Hey mate, Happy Birthday." Ron smiled at Harry and sat next to him. "Having fun?"

"Something like that." Harry laughed a little and closed his book. "What about you? Has your mother overworked you yet?"

"All in the name service to the most amazing person in the entire planet. The glorious young warrior known only as Boy-Who-Lived. The tales of his exploits have spread far and wide throughout the land. Us, lesser beings, are honored to be in his presence." Ron even gave a mock bow before Harry pushed him over.

"As well you should, peasant, as well you should." It only took one glace before the two had collapsed in laughter.

"Well, it's almost time for the party to start so you might want to go get ready." Ron stood and helped Harry up. Ron looked very intensely at him for a few moments before he shook his head. "Best get you ready, mate."

Harry went up to his room and opened his trunk. He shuffled through all of his new clothes and found something presentable. After the Iskola test, Dumbledore had gotten an assessment of how well he had done and what he needed to improve. One of the first thing he had fixed was Harry's serious lack of well fitting clothes. Yesterday, Harry had been dragged throughout muggle London and Diagon Alley in disguise. The only thing they didn't change was his body shape.

The women of the group had outfitted his wardrobe with everything he would ever need and more. Harry blushed when he ran into some of the clothing that Tonks had picked out for him. She hadn't let him turn it down though, so he was stuck with it. Harry took a shower and got dressed.

The first thing he noticed while heading down the stairs was the complete silence of the place. He stilled for a second and let loose his magic. He still hadn't gotten hold of the particular skill that he used in the alley, but he wasn't completely useless. He felt a high concentration of magic in the kitchen so he headed that way.

While walking through the halls he made sure to check every possible entrance. Mad-eye had taken to ambushing him in the halls when he thought Harry wasn't paying attention. Trying to instill the same paranoia in Harry that he had. Sirius and Remus had quickly followed suit which lead to him losing a body part or getting colored in stripes just as likely as reading a book in his daily life.

He moved softly through the halls and stood in front of the door. He noticed the lack of light from under the door so he readied himself.

"SURPR...umpf" Was all that they could get out before Harry reacted. The lights flashed on when Harry walked in the room and people from the Order popped up across the room. Harry was surprised, alright. And his magic acted accordingly. A shockwave of magic burst throughout the room.

Every person was pushed back 3 feet and many of them crashed to the floor. The loud 'umpf' sound came from Hagrid getting knocked over and almost squashing Ron.

"Dear Merlin, mate, overreaction much?" Ron sounded fine so Harry let the worry subside. He blushed a little when he realized exactly what happened and even more when the twins piped up.

"Oh, Harry-darling..."

"...jewel of our heart..."

"...priceless gem of the world..."

"...not even 3 seconds in..."

"...and you've already set the mood for the evening."

"You've got Forge and I..."

"...simply in amazement."

"...A better start to the evening than..."

"...the last 3 birthday parties we've been to."

"Anything else you'd like to spoil..."

"...is the Headmaster really not as crazy as he looks..."

"...does Ron really have a brain hidden somewhere..."

"...is Sirius really not a mass murderer?"

"Please, tell us..."

"...mystical..."

"...magical..."

"...masterpiece..."

"...that you are."

Harry was almost bright red at that point so the rest of the group brushed themselves off a bit and decided to save him.

"No worries, Prongslet. We'll have this righted in a jiffy." Sirius gave his signature half grin and waved his wand. Only for disappointment to occur because the shattered plates from the blast did little more than rattle. The rest of the Order could just look on in amazement as Sirius continued to swish his wand back and forth to no avail. Molly noticed the embarrassment and the nervousness in Harry rising and quickly set forth to prevent it.

"Harry, dear, it's no trouble honestly. It was our fault. We knew that you got easily frightened." Molly turned about, but before she could wave her wand she felt another release of magic fill the air. Though, this time instead of destruction it only brought repair. As the rest of the Order turned about again they noticed Harry at the center of this outburst.

His hair was swaying with an invisible wind and Fred and George, who the closest to him before the release, quickly backed away. Harry was caught in an invisible breeze as was most of the plates and utensils in the room. It was almost as magnificent as the magic that broke them in the first place. Harry concentrated on the guilt of breaking the plates and the want to fix them. His magic was responding quicker to him now than ever before.

As all of the newly fixed plates were placed down in their correct spots Harry gave a large sigh of relief. It was one of the few moments that he was able to fix what he broke. After 2 months of living in the house he had broken and replaced the furniture his room almost 15 times. Harry gratefully fell into a sit that the twins pulled up for him.

"Well done, our king..." One of the twins spoke up.

"...majesty of majesties..." The other continued.

"...once again you have proven..."

"...your magical might. We bow..."

"...before you in amazement." At that point, the twins decided the best course of action was to give a deep bow in amazement. They were only prevented from touching the floor by their mother pulling their ears and dragging them off.

"Seriously, boys, what were you thinking? It is Harry's birthday and you are acting like hooligans. Making him embarrassed for something he can't control. You should be ashamed of yourselves." Harry was almost certain he caught a glance of their ears turning red of embarrassment, but that might have just been Mrs. Weasley.

"Well, Prongslet, now that the entertainment for the night is over with, let's get to the party." Sirius gave his sloppy grin again and rubbed his hands together in glee.

"I...just..." Harry cleared his throat before continuing. His face was still red, but his was almost certain that was going to stay that way for the evening. "I just want to say thank you. To everyone that helped set this up or those that came. I want... you to know that I appreciate the gesture even in tough times like these. I realize that you have much better things to do than to celebrate my birthday, so I will try to make it a short one." Everyone just laughed at him and sent disagreements, this night was about him. Hagrid even blew his nose a few times and rushed forward to give Harry a hug. His first hug of the night, but not his last.

About an hour into the party, which was mostly just dinner as usual, Mrs. Weasley decided to bring out the cake. She and a few others from the order helped make a giant cake in the shape of a snitch. Harry and Ron could only stare in amazement as the witch cut it and handed out pieces.

Harry laughed through most of the night and had a fun time. It was the first time in weeks that he hadn't felt as though he was living in a warzone. Everyone was very careful to keep news of the war out of the hearing range of their resident magical marvel.

At some time during the night, the twins had pulled Harry over and gave him a sip of firewhiskey, the first Wizarding alcohol that Harry had ever tried. They just shook their heads when he tried to refuse and stated that they wanted to be the first to give Harry the joys of alcohol. After that the night turned into a good blur until the end. At 11 o'clock, the party started to break up and Harry was left to open is gifts. Remus had given him a vial of sobering up potion to help Harry focus on the task at hand.

Harry smiled to all his guests and almost thanked them for coming again, but decided against it because they all looked very tired and busy.

"Alright than, first up...Remus." Harry gave a large smile at the shy werewolf and pulled the large and sparsely decorated box from the pile. He smiled as he pulled out a set of dueling armor. It was light and flexible, but when Harry took a steak knife and tried to break it, it didn't even show a scratch. Harry gave Remus a large hug and said thank you again.

"Next up, Hagrid." Harry pulled another very bland box from the pile and was surprised when he tore off the wrapping to find a large wooden box with carvings all across it. Harry took a few minutes to admire the wood work before he opened it. Inside he found a pair of short swords and multiple throwing knifes. At some time in his training with Moody they had discovered his skill with throwing knifes, apparently Moody had shared this information with Hagrid. The knives and swords in question both had the same type of carving in their hilts, but when Harry checked them for balance he knew that these were made for battle, not decoration.

"Thank you Hagrid, Moody was just informing me that I needed to get outfitted before school. I love them." Harry placed them back in the box and shut it carefully. He noticed a few anti-lock picking runes on the box, but he still wanted to add his own protections.

"Me next." Hermione pushed through the crowd to Harry's side. She pushed out a small box that was covered in wrapping paper with moving snitches.

"Alright, Hermione, what have you got for me this time?" Harry smiled at her a little and pulled open the small box. He was surprised that he didn't find anything recognizable, just a small rectangular object with a hook on it. "Hermione, I'm all for guessing games, but I give up, what is this?"

Hermione gave a little laugh and shook her head.

"This is what I have been working on the entire summer. All of the time that I wasn't with you I was trying to figure these things out. I call them M.E.P.s." She held her breath for a moment to let the anticipation rise. "Well, I had some help, but I think they turned out nicely. MEP stands for Magical Emergency Phone. Now you know what a phone is because you were raised in the muggle world, but to those of you that don't..."

"Oh no, a Hermione lecture on Harry's birthday. I thought I was safe." Ron gave a fake moan of despair, but moved out of the way before Hermione could whack him on the head.

"Shut up, Ronald. A telephone is a way that muggles communicate with each other over long distances. We have the flu network and they have phones. Phones are just used for talking to each other over distances, not seeing each other, but Headmaster Dumbledore and myself thought it would be useful. It took more time than I thought it would, but with some help I pulled through. That phone works off the magical energy that every living magical being gives off. Though, a person can only use a phone that is attuned to their specific signature. So even if I somehow got a hold of Harry's MEP I wouldn't be able to use it."

Hermione took a deep breath and let sink it.

"The hook goes over your ear and the rectangle pointing toward your mouth. You can use it at anytime by saying the name of the person that you want to contact. There is only a limited number of these at the moment, but they will be dispersed throughout the Order so that you can call anyone you know. At this time Ron, Sirius, Remus, Hagrid, the Headmaster, myself, and a few others have them." Hermione let out a huge sigh and looked to Harry.

Harry studied the piece of magical technology intently before turning to Hermione.

"'Mione this is perfect, thank you. You don't know how much this means to me. Your brilliant, just brilliant." Harry walked over to her, but stopped abruptly before he got to her. He looked nervous about initiating contact. Hermione allowed a few seconds of awkward silence before pulling him to her in a hug.

"I'm glad you like it Harry." Hermione shook a little in Harry's arms, but pulled away before long. It wouldn't be until later that night that Harry realized at some point his shirt had gotten wet with tears.

"Who's next?" Harry was pulled back to his seat and the opening of presents, but everyone trickled out of the main room before midnight.

Harry had gotten a lot of useful presents for his school, but had also received some gag gifts. Unsurprisingly, Tonks had gotten him more embarrassing clothes that he refused to show anyone, but surprisingly so did Charlie. Harry turned red at the sight of most of the clothes, but pulled out some nice Dragonskin boots from the pile. Harry had received and entire set of enchanter's tools from Mr. Weasley and had a hard time resisting the urge to use them right away. He had gotten a very weird board game from Ron. It had three levels and looked a little bit like chess. Ron called it Lundus and said that it was one of the few popular games in the Magical Realm that was also well known in the Wizarding World. He made a promise to show Harry some of the cooler strategies before he was sent away to school.

Harry groaned as he fell into bed. The night had been long, and while fun, he was ready for the next day. Harry turned to the lone clock in the room. He studied clock intensely, 11:59 pm. The only tradition he had ever kept. He mentally counted the seconds before the clock struck 12. He heard a gong going through the hall to tell the rest of the household what he already knew. He was 15 years old. He sighed and lay down to get comfortable before he realized that he was already falling as...

**The throne room looked as cold and unforgiving as the last time he had been here. He occupied the chair in the front of the hall with a grace befit of a King. It was fitting because he ruled these halls, as soon he would rule all of England. **

**He glanced with amusement at his lowly followers. All glorious purebloods bowing before the power that sat before them. They were weak and unworthy of his attention. He turned to his side to spot the crown of his collection, Lucius Malfoy, once proud heir to one of the most powerful family bowing before his god. They were his dogs, only deserving of a reward once they had done a trick to amuse him. He lazed about for a few moments before the doors opened again.**

**Ahhh, one of the few servants he actually enjoyed. He had given Lucius a large treat when he brought the young Snape to him. So naive, but with beautiful rage and a taste for darkness. He had been rejected by his school and his peers so he had turned to the only open ear left to him. He was a very open ear indeed. The weak muggle that was his father was graciously put down by the King himself. The foolish little boy had given his soul for so cheap it was almost cute.**

**Harry smirked at the naive boy who pulled 5 floating bodies behind him. All young, virtuous muggles looking for a little bit of fun. He spotted 4 girls and a boy. He glanced at one of the more vulgar dogs he owned, Macnair, who was looking at the boy with undisguised hunger. Harry allowed a sneer at the man, but let it go. This was a night of celebration. **

**Halloween was always one of his favorite holidays, and the adrenaline and blood rush of the raid had only made it more so. His loyal little dogs had only been allowed a little bit of play time in the rural town so he had quickly made over arrangements to hold their interests.**

**Harry noticed a flash of disgust in Snape's eyes as well, but ignored it, Macnair was a necessary evil. He let loose a malicious grin, it was time to feed the dogs. He nodded to a few of them, but pointed to the one that he wanted all to himself. He might even save his favorite little boy a piece of this particular piece. He had done a fabulous job at picking out good treats...**

Harry gasped as he was pulled from the dream. He glanced around the room in shock, it was silent. There was no rocking house or screaming housemates, just him and his nightmares. Harry shook himself and pulled his blankets a little tighter, he wasn't sure which was worse: the overbearing, well meaning horde or the complete loneness that surrounded him. His magic swirled more, but didn't destroy anything. His control was getting better.

* * *

_August 5__th__, 1995_

Harry adjusted his clothing a little more. The pressure that had been following him for the past week was about to be relieved. The Headmaster had gotten a hold of his performance reports from the Iskola tests and had given them away like candy. Which lead to all of his tutors deciding that they could fix his lack of knowledge in the four days they had before he left for school. With his performance reports he also received the portkey that he was now holding.

"Alright there Harry...I mean Jude?" Ginny looked about as nervous as he felt. The group had been trying, with little success, to call him Jude this week. They were still trying to prepare him for school and none of them seemed to think that he was ready to go to school alone. Almost 15 people from the Order had offered to go with him to school to protect him, none seemed to understand why he said 'NO'.

"I'm fine Ginny, just a little nervous. The Headmaster keeps telling me that it's all completely normal, but the twinkle in his eye makes me think he's just making fun of me." Harry smiled at her and in a rare moment of openness pulled her into a hug. He was still getting used to the physical touch thing that the rest world seemed to understand instinctively, but he was going to miss Ginny. All throughout the summer the rest of the group either avoiding him or ignoring him, she was one of the few people that actually hung around him and tried to make the situation better. "I'm going to miss you, Ginny."

"Awwwww, Harrykins and Ginny..."

"...sitting in a tree..." That was as far as the twins got because their mother entered the room and wacked the both of them across the head.

"Enough of that boys. Harry, my boy..." Harry was once again caught up in the storm that was Mrs. Weasley. Once she was done chocking him in a hug he was inspected from head to foot. "You look fine, Jude. You'll be such a heartbreaker at school I can tell. Though it would be better if you had allowed me to take a clippers to your hair." She puffed it up a little bit before Harry quickly smoothed it down.

For the first time in awhile he started thinking about his scar. The small lightning bolt scar was still upon his forehead, but anyone not looking closely wouldn't be able to tell. Sometime after the Dementor attack the scar had faded to look like it was actually 14 years old. It was so thin that no one thought about it much anymore. It hadn't hurt him all summer.

Harry turned to his trunk once again. It was brand new, one of the many practical presents he had gotten. It had been from Mad-eye one of his famous 7 level trunks. The room at the bottom had turned into a half formed library because of all the book he had received. harry had even gotten a large case of old books from the Headmaster and another from the Potter Family vault. Harry scowled again. At some point after his birthday the Order had seen fit to tell him that he was a fugitive from Ministry law. The goblins were sympathetic to his plight, but could not let him remove any money. That didn't stop him from removing other heirlooms from the vault. Including the entire collection of Potter books and the shelves that they were placed one. Dumbledore had informed him that the shelves had several enchantments to keep the books preserved after all this time. Harry was still trying to find time to study the runes covering them.

There wouldn't be many people here today, just his closest friends. Hermione and Ron were already there nearby. They had a mini-party to celebrate a day after his birthday. Something were a little too personal to be shared in a group. Out of all of them, Harry would miss his closest friends the most. At times it seemed as long as they were together nothing could stop them. Harry was the action, Hermione the brains, and Ron the strategy. During their little mini-party Ron had finally told Harry what he had been up to. As it turned out Ron had been receiving training just like Harry had, but his was focused. Dumbledore had noticed how good Ron was at chess and had tested him at many other strategy games as well. Ron was being trained to be an leader in this little rebel army that the Headmaster had started. Harry personally thought that Ron would make a good general, but only if he could overcome his bad habits.

Harry smiled sadly, for the first time in 4 years he wasn't going back to Hogwarts. It was finally sinking in and he was trying not to get too sad about it. He tightened his leash on his magic. He had to remind himself several times a day not to let it flow freely, because multiple people seemed off put by his magic touching theirs.

"Alright then, are we all here?" Dumbledore enter the room in his usual manner. Everyone automatically turned to him. "Good, good. Harry, my boy, it is with great sadness that I send you off to a new school. I hope that when you return you will be better prepared to face the task at hand. I know that no one here really wants to send Harry away, me least of all. It is for the greater good that we do this, a necessary evil." Harry gave a shudder thinking back to Macnair. "It is with great hope for our future that we send you away. I must ask you to remember Harry that with great power, comes great responsibility."

Harry gave a groan under his breath, no pressure.

"Jude, are you ready to begin your next adventure?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry...no, Jude replied, "As ready as I'll ever be, Headmaster." Dumbledore gave him a sad smile.

The Headmaster looked regretful as he said, "Well then, Judius Crux, farewell."

Jude could feel the beginnings of a tug at his naval and gave a quick smile and wave to the rest of his friends.

It was time to go to school.

-RO-

Ever since the test with Jude, Ryinon had been waiting impatiently for his arrival. He had been studying his memories of the boy's mind and he thought he found the entrance to the next level. He was lounging in one his famous conjured chairs in the entrance hall. He ignored the scowls of the other teachers. They took this tradition too seriously. It was the first time he had asked to be included in arrival ritual since his beginning years as a professor. The rest of the staff had been curious to say the least. Only one of his closest friends, Myinar, had figured out it had something to do with the student he had tested.

Ryinon glanced to the side with disinterest. He almost smiled when he noticed Myinar next to him. The werewolf had not taken the secret well. He was determined to figure out what Ryinon was so obsessed with which lead to him being present for this ceremony as well.

He glanced over the entrance hall once again, the peer advisors were all somewhere between nervously twitching and pretending not to be. It was one of the traditions of the school that all new comers would be tested and shown the ropes for a week before school actually began. It had fallen to the students to complete that duty. The new students would be split depending on year and every year would have its own peer advisor.

Ryinon tried to appear uninterested as he studied the peer advisor that would be taking the younger students. Mani Freeman was one of the most outgoing and welcoming students that Ryinon had ever met, but he wasn't sure that was a good thing. The boy was one of the few shapeshifters at the school, but he had somehow made a name for himself.

The boy wasn't very powerful if Ryinon remembered correctly, but he was very strong. He was one of the few students that could fight on par with a teacher in fighting classes. If Ryinon remembered correctly Mani was chosen because he was the only one that wanted the job of protecting the younger students from the upperclassmen.

"So are you ever going to tell me what has gotten your panties in a bunch?" Myinar leaned against the side of his chair.

"I guess you will just have to wait and see. It won't be very long now." Ryinon glanced at the clock again.

"Come on, all I know is the name, Judius Crux. Will you at least point him out to me." Myinar asked.

"I'll give you a hint, he's the human one." Ryinon smiled at the shocked look on Myinar's face.

He leaned back against his chair again and smiled.

-MF-IA-

Manfildad Freeman was excited.

"Come on, Iggy, how could you not be excited."

Igniotus Arcadian was not.

"Mani, the only people that would be excited about this boring mess of a job would be an insane person or you." He leaned against the wall and turned the page of the book he was reading. The only reason he was here was because his boyfriend had somehow convinced him that spending the day with a bunch of ignorant freshmen was in his best interest. "Explain to me again why I have to be here?"

"I would get lonely without you, I needed some help with the newbies, and you wanted to get away from home and back to school sooner." Mani leaned against him. "Besides you get a reward for helping the freshmen, or have you forgotten?"

Mani smiled seductively at him for a second before bouncing away to look at the door again. He turned to look at the teachers that were standing nearby. The teacher's were only there to check out the fresh meat and potential for the next year. The freshmen wouldn't be able to see them, but it would be the first impression that most of the new students would make on their teachers.

Mani remembered his first day at the school. He was naive back then and more aggressive. He had stupidly decided to try his worth against another student by picking a fight. He had won, but had made many teachers turn against him without even knowing it. It had taken him twice as long to make a good impression in classes because of the one mistake on his first day.

Mani bounced on the balls of his feet. He was as excited as the rest of them to see the new students. A good majority of the newbies wouldn't make it through the first semester and even more would drop out by the end of the year, but he had a good feeling about this year, and he always trusted his instincts.

The first part of the day would mostly be spent doing nothing, but watching the new students arrive and get situated. The entrance hall was spelled to appear as something else entirely. The students wouldn't be able to see the upperclassmen or teachers until all of them had arrived and been standing for a good amount of time. The teacher in charge would then let the illusion fall and the newbies would be introduced to their peer advisors.

Mani had pulled some strings to get Iggy allowed to come, but seeing his boyfriend look so uncomfortable was worth it. Mani bounced a little more as he felt the magic gather in the air, it was time for them to start arriving.

-JC(HP)-

Jude felt the tug on his navel and let the portkey drag him away. He tried to ignore the tears that he saw on many faces in the room.

He landed in the most bland room he had ever seen. The walls were a beige color that must have been chosen for their pure blandness. He glanced around the room and tried spot anything out of place. There was a certain wrongness to the room that he couldn't place. He finally looked toward the people in the room. There weren't many there, just a few spread about. There looked to be some Asians in te corner talking in a language he had never heard before and he almost flinched were he realized that all of them had forked tongues. There also appeared to be some vampires lounging in the corner. He quickly turned his head when they looked at him. There was no use starting a fight.

Jude reached into his pocket a made sure that he still had his belongings. The miniaturized trunk was in one of his pockets as was his translator. He decided to head to a corner before pulling out the miniaturized book that he had brought along in case of downtime. He enlarged it as he took it out and found a wall to lean against in the mean time. He considered conjuring a chair, but decided against it, there was no use showing off this early in the day.

He tried to ignore the stares of the vampires and was glad when the next bunch of students arrived. He stood there for almost thirty minutes before someone came up to him. He had tracked the arrivals of the new students and he could already see the forming of new groups and friendships as he stood there. He had noticed multiple people that looked human, but after some quick investigating it always turned out to be another species. He had found one wizard in entire group and he looked as nervous as anyone else. The wizard must have been nearing 20 years old and Harry could tell by the wand twitching in his hand that he was very uncomfortable.

Jude turned to the girl that walked up to him. She looked almost as human as he did, but there were a few inconsistencies. The girl's hair and eyes were a color of black that seemed to absorb the light around them and Jude knew almost instantly that she was anything but human. He consentrated for a second before another image flashed in front of his eyes. He yelped under his breath at the image revealed and rubbed his eyes to make it go away. The image flashed over the girl and replaced her body with something entirely not human. The head and torso were the only things that keep their shape. The hands and legs had changed into claws of some sort with black scales covering them. The girl image had horns rising from her head and curling intricately. It was the wings that gave away her species though. The girl was a demon of some sort and from the blackness of her color he was thinking shadow demon.

"Hello, there, who are you?" The girl was talking to him. Jude covered up his shock and closed his book.

"I'm Jude. Nice to meet you." He almost put out his hand before he remembered demon greeting customs. He crossed his arms and gave a half bow in her direction. She looked shocked for several moments before repeating the gesture.

"The pleasure is all mine, Jude. My name is..." The strange demon girl didn't get to finish because of second person, or rather persons that approached him.

"Lookie what we have here boys...a regular, weak human." The vampires that had been eyeing him earlier had apparently decided that he was the best looking thing on the menu.

Jude tensed, but stood firm. Almost without thinking he shrunk the book and put it away.

"I don't want any trouble. I'm just here for school, like everyone else." Jude took a quick glance around to see that the rest of the group was now looking on, but none seemed to be moving in his favor. That wasn't including the strange girl to his side that looked to be getting angrier by the second. Jude caught her eye just as she was about to open her mouth and shook his head. It wouldn't help him any if they didn't think he could stick up for himself.

One of the last things that Remus had told him was that he would have to defend himself against the vampires quickly and effectively if he didn't want any trouble from them later on. It appeared as though he was going to have to fight that battle sooner than he thought.

"Too bad, little wizard, because trouble is exactly what we are looking for. What are you like 10 years old? What's an innocent, defenseless young boy doing in a place like this?" The lead vampire was tall and lanky. If Jude had to guess, he would say that he was 18 almost 19. The lead one was approaching him quickly and the rest had spread out in a fan shape behind him. There was no place to run, but running was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I will warn you once. Walk away and don't bother me. You will not like the outcome of this fight." Jude slowly settled into his fighting stance. He teased his magic a little. He let just a little loose from its cage to play around. He wanted the vampire to underestimate him and from the cocky look on the blighter's face it looked as though he had. Jude conjured a toothpick silently.

He watched as the cocky grin on the vampire's face got bigger. His overconfidence wouldn't help him any in this battle. As slowly as he could, Jude checked to make sure that he was wearing his armor. Remus had given him a practical gift and told Jude to wear it as much as possible. Jude had taken the advice to heart when getting dressed this morning. He had also put on Charlie's boots and loose clothing. He hadn't expected a battle, but Mad-eye had made him more paranoid than usual over the summer.

"Is that all you got, little wizard?" The vampire laughed and turned his head to his friends. "Just as I thought, the wizard is as weak and powerless as any other."

Jude gritted his teeth at the unknowing slight against his friends. He almost moved on the opening in the vampire's stance, but resisted the urge. He didn't want this fight right now.

Before Jude could think anymore the vampire made his move. Faster than Jude thought he could the vampire was upon him. The pale, larger teen was pushing him against the wall, one hand on his chest and the other in his hair, pulling his head back, displaying his throat.

Jude moved quickly then twisting his hand just so, not revealing all his cards yet. Buckets of water appeared over the heads of the other vampires in the group, floating silently. Without another thought, Jude smiled grimly and for the first time he looked the vampire in the eyes. As bright, blood red met glowing, icy green Jude finally released the hold on the wild dog that was his magic.

Within seconds multiple things happened, water was dumped on the other vampires in the group and they were flipped several feet in the air backwards. Jude's attacker was pushed away as well, but held still floating in the air in front of him. Jude's toothpick that he had conjured not too long ago, enlarged in his hand and floated up to the vampire's chest. Jude pushed himself off the wall and circled the floating vampire silently. With a flick of his hand, the vampire flew face first into the wall and was spun around to face Jude. Their positions were reversed with one difference, the stake that was floating right above the vampire's heart.

There were very few things that the muggle's myths had right about vampires. They weren't allergic to garlic or holy water, they could walk in the sunlight freely, and weren't even that nocturnal. However, there were a few things that they got right. A vampire could be killed many ways, but the quickest route was a stake through the heart or a beheading. Jude had learned about magical vampires over the summer and one of the fastest ways to neutralize the threat of a vampire's magic was to drench them in water. A vampire's main power, and their strongest, was their control over wind, some could even fly. Water was the grounding force opposite to that magic. It wouldn't last long, but a good coating in water could take a vampire out of a fight for a few minutes if not longer.

"I warned you. Didn't I?" Jude smirked at the immobilized vampire. "I went out of my way to tell you straight out that the fight would not end like you thought it would. I don't blame you for trying though. It's your nature to prey on those weaker than you." Jude took the time to look him in the eye again. His magic was flowing freely now and examining everything. Jude was getting reports on how many people and what species were in the room and how powerful they were. He was also getting strange reports about the room so he set about to explore more. "You made the mistake, though, of thinking I was weaker than you. I am not."

Jude widened his smirk when he got back reports on the walls. He finally knew what was wrong with this picture. With another flick of his hand his magic pushed against the sides of the walls. He felt resistance, but kept pushing, he was tired of this charade.

"Try not to make the same mistake twice would you?" Jude smiled widely at the floating teen and with a slight push he knocked him out and let him fall to the ground. He felt instantly when the illusion fell, his magic spread out wider and encountered more life forms. He smiled a little when he found Professor Oberon sitting nearby, he even felt a greeting to his magic by the man.

From the loud intake of breaths behind him he guessed the illusion fell to everyone else as well.

As Jude turned he was met with a sight of beauty. The bland room that they had been in only intensified the beauty of the place that surrounded them now. The entrance hall was a mixture of rich browns and warm yellows. It felt more welcoming than Hogwarts did and, as Jude tested the ward a little, just as powerful.

That wasn't the only grand sight, because the teacher's that lined the front of the room were just as intimidating as rabid wolves. They varied in shapes, sizes and looks, but they all held one thing in common. Jude's magic didn't want to go anywhere near them. He got a quick sample and then backed away. These people were powerful, even more than him.

"Quite impressive, Mr. Crux, but if you would be so kind as to contain yourself?" The women at the head of the teacher's looked more beautiful than anyone Jude had ever seen before. It took him a few moments to comprehend her request and follow it. Jude shivered a little at the power pouring off the woman. From the description the Headmaster had given him Jude figured that this must be his new Headmistress.

Jude composed himself and bowed low to the Headmistress. "My apologies, Headmistress, I will try to do better in the future."

"Quite right." The woman turned to the rest of the shell shocked new comers. "My name is Headmistress Moscorvo, let me be the first to welcome you to Iskola Preparatory Academy. Let's get started."

* * *

AN: Hello there my pretties... How are you? Good, good.

I am currently back at school and classes start tomorrow, wish me luck. I spent a lot of my break making this for you so you better be happy, got it? :-( . I hope you liked this chapter. I still haven't gotten around to getting a beta yet. So the position is still open if you would like to offer your services.

If anyone spots any major grammer mistakes that are bothering them I beg you to tell me, I won't get better without critics. I want to thank you for sticking with the story and to tell me what you think of it.

As always the review button is open source, so anyone can use it for free, thanks for reading and reviewing,

~Rain


	7. Core

**Author's Note:**

Recap: Harry has once again done the impossible and survived a Dementor's kiss. He escaped, but his cousin didn't. He went home to find that sometime during the night his relatives had been murdered. He escapes, but is later found by Dumbledore. He is taken the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters and told that he is danger to himself and others. He has Magically Matured which makes him very powerful, but because it happened so young and without training he has no control over his magic. He has to go to a new school, but before he can get there he goes through a 2 month training spree with the members of the Order.

After a test of his powers and knowledge the newly christened Judius Crux is off to the next great adventure. On his first day at school, he gets into a fight with a group of vampires. He wins and in a spectacular move he shows off just how much power he has...that will probably turn out great, right?

Disclaimer: I don't own the work of J.K. Rowling and never will. In no way will I purposefully try to plagiarize anyone else's work. All ideas about how magic works or the Magical Realm are my own.

**Chapter 7: Core**

* * *

_August 5__th__, 1995_

_"Quite right." The woman turned to the rest of the shell shocked new comers. "My name is Headmistress __Moscorvo, let me be the first to welcome you to Iskola Preparatory Academy. Let's get started."_

"As you are probably aware the first week will be a settling in period for you before the upperclassmen arrive. If you look to the side," The Headmistress pointed to a group of older students that were standing there, "These are your peer advisors and the closest thing to an ally you are going to find. Their job is to make sure you survive your first semester fully intact. We have split all the incoming students into different sections, 7 students per section with one advisor. Normally we would have had more time to set up before anyone noticed the illusion, but we might as well get started." She nodded to the group of older students to start moving to the front of the room and turned back to the nervous students with a stern stare.

"You'll notice behind me there are several of your soon to be teachers." She paused and allowed the students to look at their new teachers. "This is not an easy school, this is a Preparatory Academy. We are not here to coddle you into adulthood. We _are_ here to teach you to survive. We only expect the best from our students and you are the best of the best. As I'm sure you have noticed, appearances can be deceiving." Jude felt more than a few gazes on his back. "You do not want to make the mistake with someone who can tear you to pieces and you will be walking next to them ever day. You are all here to learn. Do not disappoint us." At this the Headmistress spun on her heel and glided out of the room, many teachers followed.

After many moments of silence the peer advisors had finally made themselves know to the incoming students and were having a grand time trying to sort out who was in their group. There were a lot of people moving around the room and more than a few had gotten trampled on by not moving, but luckily or unluckily most of the people around him were giving him a wide berth.

"Oh, in Morgana's Name, give me that..."

Jude turned to the very loud and irritated voice and saw an annoyed Sidhe. The man in question looked like he would rather be anywhere else.

"Alright, since everyone has lost their common sense I'm going to tell you what to do." The man paused for dramatic effect and glared at the advisors. "All advisors make a card showing who is supposed to be following you and raise it over your head, make sure it is big enough for people to see. Please spread out, because the groups are too close together. And new students," He paused again and glared at the crowd, "You will behave like the respectable and competent students you are supposed to be. If I see any unnecessary shoving, there will be punishment. Are we clear?" The man paused again and waited for the room to nod. "Good, get moving."

The man waved a hand over his throat and cancelled his sonorous charm.

Jude started glancing around again, but this time looking for his name. He found it surprisingly right next to the man who had talked, but the man didn't seem to be the advisor. Jude almost grimaced when he saw the over-excited smile on the man's face. He had never gotten on with overly happy people.

Jude made his way over quickly and stood next to one of the presumably freshmen that had arrived before him. He looked at the group he was following and found the familiar face of the girl demon that he had talked to for a second before the fight.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to finish the introductions before your little fight, my name is Ren Baccurus." The demon smiled. Jude noticed the slightly sharpened teeth and smiled back.

" I guess we are in the same group. Does that mean you're a freshman too?" Jude asked.

"Yes, this my first time in an integrated school structure, but my siblings have been going here for years. It is a tradition in my clan that the strongest of the year cycle come to Iskola." She gave a feral grin when one of the students passing by them gave a flinch at seeing her. "I'm liking the scene so far. What you did to those leeches was amazing I almost couldn't believe my eyes. I knew you were powerful, but that was incredible."

Jude was confused.

"What do you mean, 'knew I was powerful'?" He asked.

"Come on, Jude, don't act stupid." Ren stared at him incredulously. "The power that is currently flowing off of you, it's almost orgasmic and I don't even feed on that kind of power." Jude was even more confused. "Look, Jude, I like you, but you have to stop being naive. As soon as you released that torrent of magic there were more than a few people in the room that collapsed to the floor. That kind of power can be addicting to certain races and there are plenty of people in this room that would love to get their hands on more of it."

"I had no intention of that. I just wanted the vampires to leave me alone." Jude almost blushed.

"It was the right move." Both of them jumped as the new voice spoke up. They were surprised to see the Sidhe from before and what they supposed was their peer advisor standing there.

"Come on, Iggy, you didn't even introduce yourself." The excitable male standing next to him grabbed Jude and Ren by the hands and started pulling them away. "Come along, freshmen." The advisor waved for the rest of the group to follow. They followed the two upperclassmen to a room that was down the hall. The room looked to be a common room of some sort with couches and chairs spaced throughout the room. "All righty, nice to meet you all. My name is Manfildad Freeman, but you can call me Mani, everyone does. The person next to me is Ig..." He was cut off by the irate Sidhe.

"My name is Igniotus Arcadian, and you all can call me Arcadian, or nothing at all."

"Ignore Iggy, he's a little grumpy today. He's a big softie I swear." From the glare of the Sidhe standing behind him Jude doubted that very much. "Alright, time to get this show on the road. Please take a moment to glance around the room."

The room was painted a smoky blue and had mostly wood furnishing. There was a fireplace that took up the majority of one wall and lots of tables scattered around the room. It was smaller than Jude thought at first glance, but looked very cozy. It was the type of room that you could lounge in for hours. He also sensed a bit of magic floating throughout the room, but couldn't tell exactly what it was doing.

"This is your common room. As some of you have probably noticed the door has disappeared." Mani started. Jude looked behind him in surprise and sure enough the door was gone. "Iskola has a very special rooming system. The entire building feeds off the energy of its students. I know this is alarming to some, but you shouldn't worry the amount that the school takes is an insignificant amount to most people. The teachers take the majority of fueling the school on their shoulders, but if the worst ever came the Headmistress could probably hold up the entire school by her magic alone and still have more than she could ever use." Mani smiled at them.

"The main reason that the school absorbs some of your power is mostly for your benefit. There are advantages such as security, but those are mostly never seen. The parts of the school that will take the most of your magic is this room right here. There is a different common room for every 7 students that come to this school. This one is yours, all 7 of you are currently contributing to making this room what it is. It is currently absorbing bits of your magic to find what you most like and dislike. It then compiles all of the information and starts changing itself."

"This is a basic room, but in a week it will look completely different. No one knows exactly how the groups of 7 are chosen, but it always seems to turn out that the people in the groups become good friends. Anyway, you'll notice that there are no doors attached to this room, this is for a reason. The room is currently deciding on where it wants to place you all. I think most of the rooms eventually get doors that lead to individual rooms, but not always. I knew a group that just have one giant bed in the middle of the room and they all slept on that. There are no two common rooms that are going to be alike. I knew a group of students that were all interested in herbology so their room got transformed into something of a greenhouse, it was pretty incredible. Can you think of any Iggy?" The Sidhe in question was reading a book seemly ignoring everything else, but he answered.

"Well our group was split into 3 different rooms. Myself and Mani in one, a couple in another, and the last held 2 vampires and a human. We are all couples that have stayed together through the years. Then there was a group of Sirens that got put together, the room got half transformed into a lake. A group of half Fire Demons and half Drakes had a room that was 15 degrees hotter than anywhere else and had open fires everywhere. These are all pretty rare though, most students just get a regular dorm with 7 rooms attached to the main common area that mostly stayed the same. The individual rooms were all different though. It is one of the reasons that new students get a week by themselves in the school. The more difficult the room the more the more magic it takes to change and the more tired out the students get throughout the week. It wouldn't be fair to push classes on them when most of you will only be half awake all week." Arcadian didn't even lift his head once from the book he was reading.

"So, let's get moving. You already know my name and Iggy, now it's your turn. You should introduce yourself fully, and tell something about yourself." Mani seemed to pause for a moment before pulling out a list. "So, why doesn't Melody Pond go first."

The first thing that Jude noticed about the girl that stood up was that she was blue. He had known that different species had different colored skin, but it was still something of a shock to see. The girl had long dark blue hair that never seemed to be still. It looked more like a stream of water than hair.

"My name is Melody. I am a water sprite. I am only here because the oceans are restless and a turning of the tides is coming." She sat down again without another word.

"Alright then, next is Sven Notculus."

The boy that stood up must have been made of muscle, with short brown hair and eyes that seemed a little to small. At first glance Jude could have sworn he was made of rocks.

"I, Sven. I, Golem. I get strong."

"Short and to the point. Ren Baccurus." Mani said.

The girl sitting next to him stood up. In a fraction of a second her entire body changed. Black scales popped out of every available surface of skin and horns grew out of the top of her head. Her hands and feet changed to the claws that Jude had seen in the vision and for the first time he noticed that she hadn't been wearing shoes in her previous form. The only thing that didn't show was her wings.

"I'm Ren Baccurus, the heir to the Baccurus clan and the Successor of Byuckhas." The room seemed darker than before, the shadows creeping closer still. "I am a shadow demon of the highest class. I am training in the arts that will help me lead my clan to prosperity." Jude only had to blink once before the room and Ren were back to normal. Ren was once again humanish and the room was just as bright as it had been before. It took a few more blinks before he got used to it though.

"Okay, moving on, Caleb Cullis." Mani started again.

"Hi, nice to meet you all. My name is Caleb." It was the closest to human that Jude had seen in the group, but the ears gave him away. "I am a Person of the Forest, also known as Forest Elf in common tongue. I have been training for several years to take over my father's position in The Guard. It's a pleasure I'm sure." The boy sat down.

"Nice to meet you as well. So, next we have..."

Jude didn't hear the rest of Mani's sentence, in fact he could hear anything anymore except for the buzzing. The world around him seemed to dissolve into colors and shapes and sounds that hadn't been there before. There was meshing and moving and collisions. Jude could keep track of it all the shapes were moving so fast and changing. It was so big, it dwarfed his small view point, ready to absorb him into its masterpiece. Then he was floating, he felt smaller than before, but bigger than ever. He had become one with the dance, the movements that had been so impossible to understand before where as second nature as breathing...Why wasn't he breathing? Why couldn't he feel his hands or limbs? There was no air in this space, no need before, but now he was gasping.

The colors were fading quickly and he couldn't hold on to the masterpiece, he needed _air._

Jude came back to the room with a gasp. A deep breath of air and the swirling behind his eyelids started to dim. It was bittersweet, but within a few moments it was gone completely.

"...Crux." Mani's voice was seeping into his consciousness.

"We just finished Kilx's turn. You're the last to go." Mani said again. Jude barely trusted opening his eyes, but he forced it.

"Did anyone else see that?" His voice was hoarse. The light nearly blinded him when he opened his eyes, but he still saw the shocked look on Arcadian's face when for the first time the Sidhe removed his head from his book.

"See what?" Mani's head was closer to him than before and he looked worried.

"Sorry, must have fallen asleep..."Jude shook his head again before starring at the people around the room. "I apologize for missing you introductions." The two people in the room that Jude didn't know the names of just nodded. "Um, right. I'm Judius Crux. You can call me Jude, or Crux, or anything really. I'm a wizard from Britain. I've come to Iskola because I need to learn how to control my magic. I'm new to the Magical Realm so if I mess up on something and offend you chances are I didn't do it on purpose so please correct me." Jude shrugged and sat down again. His mind instantly went back to the space he had seen before.

"Okay, now that's over with it's time for relaxing. The room has already started changing which means you won't be able to leave for another few days. Don't worry about food, it will be delivered to the room. Now other doors should start showing up soon and those will lead to your own personal bedrooms. I would suggest you all get some sleep." Mani paused add pointed to a bookcase on the wall. "This connects directly with the library shelves just thing about what you want to read and touch one of the shelves. Don't worry about which room is yours, you will be able to tell the difference. Now I am going to leave you to get settled and get to know each other a little more. I will be back tomorrow and we will start discussing the coming year."

Mani got up and headed towards the door. Arcadian stood as well, but before he left he got close to Jude and whispered in his ear.

"Don't tell the others about the void." The Sidhe stared for a few seconds and then walked away. Jude didn't have to ask what he meant.

Mani touched the wall with his hand and suddenly a door grew out of the wall. "Now, I would ask that you don't try and leave the room. It will let you out when it has gotten what it needs. Have fun." With a giant smile and a tug at his partner's arm both of the upperclassmen were out the door.

The seven seemed to sit in shock for awhile before Ren stood up. She sighed for a second and then stretched. Jude was as surprised as anyone when she grabbed his arm and pulled him to the darkest corner of the room.

"What was that about?" The demon demanded. Jude placed a confused look on his face.

"I haven't a clue what you mean."

"Don't give me that. You are the only real human in a school of other species there is no way that you would fall asleep in the company of others."

"I'm afraid that's just what happened I should probably go and apologize to the two that I missed. What were their names?" Jude asked while staring at the two across the room. He could easily tell from this distance that they were twins.

"Kyrin and Kon Kilx. They're Imantixs." At Jude's more than confused look she continued. "The closest relation they have is to ghosts. More on the astral plane than the physical one. Very useful at divinations, my clan hires their types often. But that's off topic. They couldn't care less about you. They probably don't see any difference between you and a frog. It's just the way their species is. Now tell me the truth." Ren stared him straight in the eyes and Jude had to look away.

"I can't say. Arcadian told me not to." Jude gave a sigh when the girl leaned back sharply. He didn't want to lose the only acquaintance he had so soon, but following the upperclassmen was very important from the way he had looked at Jude.

"That's interesting." Ren seemed to think for a few more minutes before relaxing. "Well, I suppose I will find out soon enough." She stared at the other five people in the group and let out an audible groan. "Just my luck, I have the 6 most useless roommates in existance."

Jude looked at the group and then back to Ren.

"What do you mean?"

The girl demon gave him the stink eye and then groaned again.

"I can understand while this group is useful to you, but not to me. Iskola almost never gets the groupings wrong." She seemed to ponder for a minute before giving into Jude's almost pleading confused look. "Look, the people in this room are the best possible choices for roommates you could have. Iskola probably found the only 6 people in the entire school that wouldn't want to suck you dry. None of these people even cares that the others exist let alone wanting to feed off them. That's just what you need. But not what I need."

"Well, what do you need?" Jude asked hesitantly.

"Look, my eldest brother when he came here had a group that was made of demons from different clans all across Occia, our homeland. He started making alliances and has improved the relations of our clan with all of the surrounding clans. My second eldest brother was placed in a group with forest nymphs and elder fae, the two species in the world most renown for healing. He has become the first competent healer that we haven't had to hire in over a century. My last brother was placed with children of ambassadors from all the influential clans in the world and he is currently the leader of the demon sect at Iskola. Yet somehow, I, the heir to the clan get stuck with a river, a rock man, a tree hugger, two imaginary friends, and you, the human. So forgive me if I don't exactly see the advantages yet."

Jude could see how annoyed she was getting because of this.

"Look, maybe your viewing this the wrong way. Just because so don't see any obvious advantages to having these roommates doesn't mean there isn't one. It's foolish to just think off the bat that no one here will ever be useful to you. You're saying that Iskola never messes up the roommates except for this onetime..."Jude answered her.

"I suppose maybe you're right, but I don't see how any of these people could ever be of use to me in the future." She looked up suddenly and met Jude's eyes. "Well, except for you. You are an enigma and I do love to solve riddles.

Before the conversation could go on any longer a loud bell was heard and the table closest to the center of the room. Jude and Ren walked there and sat with the other members of their group. Jude was confused for a second before picking up a piece of paper that sat next to his plate. Instantly the paper started filling with writing. It took a second before he realized it was a menu.

"Just pick want looks most appetizing to you." Ren muttered from his side.

The menu looked fairly normal, Jude couldn't see any types of food that would appeal to other species, but when a giant tankard of water filled with different types of fish appeared in front of Pond and she started drinking it, Jude guessed that there was probably a different menu for everyone. He picked out a steak meal and was almost surprised when the menu popped away and a steak dinner popped unto the plate. Ren appeared to have also chosen something like a steak dinner, but hers appeared to be raw and still covered in some blood. Jude had to look away to stop from getting nauseous, he wasn't the only one. The forest elf appeared to more than disgusted by her choice and from the selection of plants on his plate it appeared he was a vegetarian.

"So your name is Jude, right?" The forest elf was speaking to him.

"Yes, that's right." He answered cautiously.

"So, what was with that display earlier about?" He asked while chewing on a leaf.

"I wanted to make sure I wasn't bothered by them anymore." The table seemed to pause and then all of them started laughing at once. "What?"

"If that was your intention I think you're going to be disappointed." He answered.

"What do you mean?"

"You're human, a wizard, and while that isn't the strangest thing this school have ever seen it is pretty close. The fact that you have enough magic to take out a group of vampires on your first day is more than impressive, it's something of a miracle. Then you decided to completely take down the illusion placed there by the teachers with what appeared to be no effort. If anything you have become the most interesting thing in the entire school. I would be surprised if you never had a calm day at this school after that display." The elf chuckled a bit more an continued eating. Jude couldn't stop himself from blushing a little.

"Don't worry about that just yet though, you still have this week at school with no one bothering you. I just hope your mental shields are up to par. They are going to be put under quite a bit of stress." He paused and thought for a moment. "Speaking of which why aren't you unconscious right now?"

"Hmm, what do you mean?"

"Well, vampires have this glamour that they use to attract and neutralize victims. I'm surprised that you didn't fall under its sway. Your shields must be really good if you didn't even feel it."

Jude blushed a little more and focused on eating his food. "I just have a special defense that's all." The group stared for a few more seconds before continuing eating. Everyone finished when they heard another bell noise and the table was clear again. it was only after a minute or so that the group noticed the doors that appeared. Five doors all lined in a row, all different shapes and colors. It was obvious that they were the doors to the students rooms, but the fact that there was only 5 of them was a little worrying.

Without a word the twins got up and walked to the door the farthest to the left. It was a swirling grey color and from a distance looked kind of like clouds. When they opened it and walked in Jude couldn't see much of anything except a grey color. As soon as the door closed with the twins inside it vanished from the wall.

"It's a defense mechanism. The doorway doesn't exist unless you are in the common room." Ren answered the unasked question.

The next to walk to the doorways was Pond and Sven. The golem's door was almost 3 times larger than any of the other doors. Pond's door was wooden, but looked almost rotted and all of it was wet. If Jude didn't know better he would say it was driftwood. When the girl opened her door all he could see was a wall of water. Pond didn't wait more than a second before she dove into in. Jude could of sworn that he saw her body vanish a second before the door disappeared. The golem's opening looked more like a mountain top than anything else, but he didn't get more than a glimpse before it too was gone.

The elf walked over to his doorway next. It was also made of wood, but seemed more like the side of a tree than anything else. He saw an entire forest inside the doorway when it was opened and could have sworn that it was actually leading outside the building instead of a room.

When that door vanished there was only one left and Jude didn't have any shred of hope that it was his. The black color of the door that absorbed the light around it made it perfectly obvious who it belonged to.

"I guess this is goodnight then." Jude told to the still sitting Ren.

"I wanted to see what your room looked like. I suppose I can wait with you for awhile." Ren said with a curious tone.

"Don't worry, we will be living together for an entire year hopefully. I think you'll have the time to look." Jude stood up and walked with Ren to her door. "Thank you for telling me about this place. I feel I would have been completely lost without you."

"Don't worry about that stuff, little human. I figure I might as well get to know the most interesting person on campus. Iskola probably knows what it is doing by putting us together. I might even get a good ally out of it." She stared intently for awhile then nodded and opened her door. Jude couldn't see anything but blackness inside. "You better be worth the trouble." And then she was in the door and gone.

Jude stood for a moment and then sat on the couch. He stared into the fireplace before getting out the book he had put away before and continuing reading. He must have sat for another hour or so before figuring out that his room probably wasn't going to show. He gave a little sigh before conjuring a blanket and pillow and laying on the couch.

Why did he always have to be the weird one.

-HG-RW-

"How do you think he's doing?" Ron asked from his side of the chess board. No matter how many games and different strategies he learned, he was always still a lover of chess. He body was more than worn down from the training from the day. Without Harry to punish Moody had turned to Ron.

Ron still wasn't sure if Moody was trying to kill him or train him, but he had the injuries either way.

"What?" Hermione wasn't paying attention. It was more of a common occurrence now than it had ever been before. There was still a few more weeks before school started, but Hermione had her head firmly placed in books. Though, this time it wasn't for classes, but for the war. The demolished Ministry and her family had focused her to an unnatural degree.

"Harry. How do you think he is?" Finally moving a piece and turning the board.

"He is probably fine. The school is one of the best in the world, classes haven't even started yet. I doubt he could get into trouble that quickly." She said offhandedly. Ron stared her down for a second.

"Are you completely forgetting who your friend is?"

Hermione looked up shocked for a second before thinking and sighing.

"You're right, but there is nothing we can do about it now. We can't help him where he is anymore than he can help us. We just have to hope that the training was enough and that he will be alive and in one piece the next time we see him." She closed her book for the first time all night and then looked out the window. "We just have to make sure of the same."

Ron forgot about the game for a second and moved to hug her. They stayed like that for minutes before Ron felt wetness on his shirt.

-JC(HP)-

Jude was woken by a hand softly shaking his body. It took him a second to realize that the hand belonged to the Sidhe that he had met the day before, Arcadian.

"Follow me." He moved to the only door that existed in the room currently. Jude recognized it as the same one from last night.

"I thought that we couldn't leave the room for a couple of days?" He asked groggily. Arcadian only had to glare for a second before Jude was out of bed and straightening his clothes. "Alright, where to?"

Arcadian just opened the door before gliding out, Jude quickly followed and closed the door behind him. Strangely enough the door didn't vanish.

"We are headed to Professor Oberon's office. I've been told that you know him?"

"Yeah, he administered my test. Why are we going there?" Jude asked still trying to get the sleep out of his eyes.

"He needs to explain something to you. Something that you shouldn't have to know, but now do. Keep quiet and stay close." He didn't say another word after that.

Jude couldn't stop looking at things. The route that Arcadian was taking him on was complicated, but after living in Hogwarts for years it was child's play. The stopped after about 10 minutes in front of a dark wood door with this carved into it:

**Professor R. Oberon**

**Head of Weather Magics**

The door opened and Jude was pushed in.

"Mr. Crux, it is a pleasure to see you again. I thought that I would have to wait till the start of classes for this. Though, when Igniotus informed me of your problem I was a little confused." He paused and sat at his desk. The giant desk took up a large portion of the room and was covered in papers. The walls were completely covered in maps and charts of the world. Jude could see some clouds moving across some and colors splashed across others. He had no idea what half of the things that covered the room were used for, but the little trinkets that were splattered across the room reminded him of Dumbledore's office.

"I'm sorry, sir, what problem?" Jude asked still confused. He was seated in one of the chairs in front of the desk, but his guide was still standing by the door.

"Mr. Crux, had we known more about you problem we would have informed you immediately and taken the necessary precautions for your magic type. it is not uncommon for magical species to have a close connection to the soul, but we were not aware that wizards could have the same problem." He looked at Jude roughly. Jude blushed and looked down.

"Not wizards, sir, just me."

" I see, but never the less, this has caused some problems that normally would not happen. You were informed last night that the school takes bits of its inhabitant's magic, right?" He waited.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, this normally isn't a problem because most of the students no longer have a connection between their soul and their magic. The school can just take little bits that you're not using and add it to the core. It becomes a problem when a student's magic is still attached to their soul. Sidhe are one of the few races that still have this connection, but there are few others. Most don't go to school, because they don't really need to, but we do know how to prepare for them. This is the first time that this has happened by accident."

"I'm sorry, sir, what has happened?" Jude cut in.

"I'm getting there. What you saw last night is called The Core, also known as the Void. It is the heart of the school. As I'm sure you have figured out the school isn't always corporeal. The Core is what causes this with the help of the magic from its students. Normally you wouldn't see this until your last year of school of even not at all. However, you have the fortune to see it before your time it. When the Core took part of your magic it also accidentally took part of your soul." The professor paused for a few minutes to let it sink in.

"WHAT?" Jude almost screamed. "The school _ate_ my soul?"

"No, nothing like that. The Core doesn't eat away at souls. It doesn't work like that. Normally it wouldn't even do what it did. Normally a soul is stuck in a body pretty firmly. It would have to be drawn out of the body through great force before it could be broken apart enough to be taken into the school. There is a class of soul magic that teaches students how to do this safely and as far as I know this is the first time it has ever happened accidentally."

"So, how did this happen. You keep saying that it was an accident, but what could have caused this?" Jude asked.

"That I don't know. Normally one of the peer advisors would be able to stop the process of magic taking before the school could draw out the soul enough for it to take some. However, it appears your soul was a little bit _looser_ than others. Do you know why?" He stared intently. Jude gave a shudder and looked down. He knew exactly why it was looser, the dementor.

"Yes, sir. I can guess. I recently had an encounter, the same one that caused my majority to happen before schedule." He ignored the gasp of surprise that came from Arcadian.

"I see, the Headmistress should have that information then?" The Professor asked and opened a file on his desk.

"So that's why I don't have a room?" Jude asked cautiously.

"Yes, Igniotus stopped the school from taking any more of your magic or soul. That means that it didn't have enough to make a room that is perfect for you. Not to worry. There are ways around this, but I will have to teach you how to let go of part of your magic without releasing part of your soul. Also, the school will only be taking part of your magic when you are being supervised by a teacher to make sure that you aren't losing your soul in the process. It's an easy procedure, but it should happen at least once a month, I'll make a schedule." He moved to the front of his desk and waved is hand. Furniture moved out of the way to leave an open space on the floor. "Sit down, please."

"Sir, will I ever e able to get back the part of my soul that is already lost?" Jude asked sadly while moving to the floor. Professor Oberon sighed for a second before answering.

"That is unknown at the moment. I should hope so, but things a constantly in flux and I don't know if the school will let you go or if we can find it. But, you shouldn't worry about that just yet, we have years before you have to go. Now focus on my voice and get comfortable." It took only a minute or so before Jude had relaxed into a meditative state.

"I want you to let loose some of your magic. Like yesterday when it flowed through the entire room. Just let it out." Jude let it go, sensing the entire room. He tasted the magics that were attached to the different trinkets scattered across the room. The breeze from the open balcony that smelled of dry heat and trees. He sat there absorbing the sounds, smells, and tastes of the room before Oberon continued. "Now I want you to let it go. Cut off the ties you have to it. Leave it in the room, focus on your body, but let the magic stay."

Jude didn't understand what he mean at first and struggled to comply, but after a few minutes he started to understand. He flew back into his body, but just left the magic floating there, not doing anything. It took a few minutes, but then Jude was back in his body and feeling more tired than ever.

"You will feel exhausted for a little while releasing so much magic, but a week should be more than enough time to recover it. There now, sit up slowly." As Jude came back to himself he realized the sun was a little higher than it was when he sat down and only Oberon and him were left in the room. "I let Arcadian go back to his duties. You've been sitting there for almost 4 hours."

"Sorry it took so long."

"It was to be expected, letting loose that much energy is exhausting and it takes time, that's what I was here for. It is a shame though, because I desperately wanted to try out your Occulmency shields again. I guess that will have to wait though."

"Sorry, sir." Jude said again.

"Enough of that. You have released enough magic that the school should have created your room by now. The common room will probably also have changed by the time you get back. The amount you gave should even out with your other roommates by the end of the week and I will be interested to see how it turns out. I will see you in class, Mr. Crux. Just head back the way you came, you should hit your common room door soon enough."

"Sir, I was just wondering what class is it that you teach?"

"I teach many courses here, but chances are you will be in my beginning defense course this semester. It is one of the only ones that I teach new students. It will be interesting to see how you do. Now do dawdle, your room should be ready by the time you get there and I would suggest getting a good night of sleep, or rather day of sleep." The Professor helped Jude up and lead him to the door.

"Thanks, Professor. I will see you later." Jude waved one more time before setting off down the hall, sleep was the only thing on his mind.

He had been walking through the corridors back to his room when he heard the noise. It was such a soft sound that he couldn't be sure at first what it was, but turned around anyway to look for whatever made it. The empty hallway stared back at him. The flickering fire of the torches on the wall mocked his paranoia. He shook his head and continued walking thinking it was just his imagination.

The last thing he saw was a flash of red and then everything went dark.

* * *

AN: Cool beans, readers. I haven't updated this in a while and thought it would be good to get it going again. I haven't forgot about you, but I'm always so busy. What about you? Doing okay? That's great. I'm back to school myself. Starting my Junior year in the College. But whatever.

Enough about me. You can tell me what you think if you just hit that little button down there. You know which one I'm talking about.

Smell you later,

~Rain


	8. Unexpected Developments

**Author's Note:**

Recap: Harry has once again done the impossible and survived a Dementor's kiss. He escaped, but his cousin didn't. He went home to find that sometime during the night his relatives had been murdered. He escapes, but is later found by Dumbledore. He is taken the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters and told that he is danger to himself and others. He has Magically Matured which makes him very powerful, but because it happened so young and without training he has no control over his magic. He has to go to a new school, but before he can get there he goes through a 2 month training spree with the members of the Order.

After a test of his powers and knowledge the newly christened Judius Crux is off to the next great adventure. On his first day at school, he gets into a fight with a group of vampires. He wins and in a spectacular move he shows off just how much power he has...that will probably turn out great, right?

After getting introduced to most of his seven roommates he gets dragged away by an upperclassman to talk to Professor Oberon about the strange sight that he sees in the common room. Oberon informs him that the school has accidently taken a piece of his soul when taking his magic. He is on his way back to his room after releasing a large amount of magic when something stops him.

Disclaimer: I don't own the work of J.K. Rowling and never will. In no way will I purposefully try to plagiarize anyone else's work. All ideas about how magic works or the Magical Realm are my own.

**Chapter 8: Unexpected Developments**

* * *

The first thing that Jude noticed upon waking is that the world was shaking. The ground beneath him was moving fiercely and he knew instantly that standing up would be a bad idea. There was the sound of cracking throughout the hall and Jude wanted to cover his ears from the invading sound, but his arms wouldn't move. He was so tired he couldn't think straight.

"WHAT...THINKING...IMBECILES... SHOULD...EXPELLED!" Someone was yelling, but he couldn't understand. The voice sounded familiar it was nice, a calm voice. "KILL YOU..." But not right now. Jude couldn't understand. Why was the voice so upset?

"Jude...need to...listen...please...try harder. I know...find...center...Listen, Jude. I need you to call back your magic." He heard another voice, a less nice voice, but it was calmer. He tried to follow the calm directions, but it wouldn't listen.

His magic wouldn't listen to him, not anymore. It was angry, Jude could tell, but that made no sense. Magic doesn't have feelings, except...his did. It was angry at someone, _no_, multiple people. Harry could sense them, _too far_, his magic answered. They were just out of range and it wanted revenge. Harry couldn't tell what for, _NO, not HARRY, Jude_ that was his name now. _Right?_

Jude wanted to answer he wanted to comfort the voice that was distressed. The voice that was pounding in his head louder than the shaking of the floor or the cracking of the walls. He knew that voice intimately. He had know that voice his entire life. He was that voice. _No, not me, us._ It answered him, but it shouldn't have. Jude knew that much now. It shouldn't be speaking. That nice voice in his head didn't belong there. He shouldn't be hearing it, magic didn't work like that. _Says who?_

No, no, shut up. Jude wanted to hit his head. To make the bad voice disappear.

_Not bad, we are one._

That wasn't supposed to happen. Jude's half conscious mind provided just enough information to tell him that something was completely wrong, but he could not tell what. He could tell that the impossible voice that definitely didn't exist was very angry.

_Want revenge. Bad people try to hurt us. We were not whole and they attacked us. If we were full they wouldn't have gotten close. We mistake, we fix._

Jude could feel the shaking increase. The stretch that his magic tried to take, but couldn't because there wasn't enough. Pain lanced throughout his spine, he was stretching too far.

_Not you, us. Must revenge._

Please, don't. This is not the way. He tried to be coherent, but it was tough. We can get them later. When we are stronger.

_We get stronger soon?_

Jude could feel the calming of the stones and the movement stopping. Yes, yes. We will get stronger soon, but we have to wait a little while. We have time.

_Time?_

The voice was softer now, Jude could tell. It was disappearing and he was sad. Though, not sad, part relieved, because the impossible voice was disappearing and that was good. He could feel the draw of his magic back to himself. It was calm again and the outside voices were still talking.

"That's good, Jude. Much better." He struggled to understand before opening his mouth. It took him a few tries before everything started working again.

"I...good?" Jude asked the person.

"Yes, Jude. That was very good." The intense eyes stared down at him.

"I...sleep now?" Jude tried to open his eyes, but it wouldn't work. There wasn't enough energy left. He was asleep before he even heard the answer.

-EM-

The Headmistress stared intently down at her youngest student and the cause of the commotion of the day. He had fallen back to sleep, but his magic still hung around. She could feel it prowling the air around him making sure that no one dangerous could come close to its owner again. She stood and moved gracefully to the side to allow Healer Janvis to move the boy. Knowing the Healer she had a bad feeling that he would wake feeling more like a lab rat than ever before.

She turned around to see two of her closest friends and Professor's glaring at each other like children. Both were old enough to know better, but couldn't seem to get over the grudge that they had for each other. Both were holding on to two students each, all vampires and all new.

"So, whose bright idea was it to attack the boy that all of you couldn't beat yesterday." All of the students looked down except for one. The boy was to confidant for his own good and the Headmistress could tell that there was going to be trouble from him more than once. "It doesn't really matter, you will all be punished, but I should know who to look out for."

The group seemed to shuffle for a few minutes before their leader gathered up enough courage to answer.

"I know that students in this school can feed on each other without breaking the rules, what's so wrong about this?"

"Really? Mister Donkinof, you want to know why you can't feed on the one human that you thought would be such an easy meal ticket?" She stared him in the eye until he ducked his head before continuing. "The fact that he already beat you once this day notwithstanding there are plenty of reasons this is not okay. For example, no one else's victim decides that taking down half the school in an earthquake is the best way to protect himself. No one else's victim has the protection of possibly the world's most powerful wizard behind him. Though, I think, most importantly, everyone else's meal is _willing_." She glared down and the cowering boys in front of her and then rubbed her eyes a little. Some days weren't worth the energy needed to get out of bed in the morning. "Now, Gunther will lead you back to your rooms. I will be back to give your punishments within the day." She waved forward one of the school's many helpers that were lingering at the edges of her sight and smiled as the terrified boys were lead away. Just leaving her with her two Professor who were more than willing to start a fight with each other.

"Now, before you start let's go to your office. Whichever is closest." She could feel a headache approaching. She could tell where they were going before they even started moving. Ivan's rooms were the closest of the three of them.

Ivan was almost 400 years older than her and didn't look a day over twenty. He was the oldest teacher there and Elina's oldest friend, but she could tell that he was at the end of his short fuse. His rooms were some of the most open in the school. It was an ancient style of architecture that Elina was sure had been lost some centuries ago, but it seemed to fit Ivan as well as his figure. The large sleek stones that covered the walls and floor made the more give an impression that most wouldn't forget. Ivan was one of the few teachers in the school that combined his personal space and classroom to give more of an epic feel. He still had to stop students from throwing themselves on his bed and trying to take him, but Elina knew that more often than not he gave into the request.

It wasn't against the rules for the professor's to sleep with their students, but it was looked down upon. Though, once you got to Ivan's age there really was no one that had the authority to look down on him. It was ignored more than anything and Elina overlooked his promiscuity because she knew that he never took the unwilling into his bed.

"What were you thinking? That's right, you weren't." And the dog was off. As soon as the door had closed Ivan saw fit to let loose on the other person in the room.

"How does this have anything to do with you? That's right, it _doesn't_." Ryinon answered the raging vampire easily. He conjured a chair for himself without another thought. It was one thing that Elina had gotten used to in their many years together, but she knew at this one instant he was only doing it to piss Ivan off more. She could tell from his tense position that he was just as upset about his lapse in judgment as Ivan.

"It become my problem when the school decided to collapse because one little human couldn't keep a lid on his magic. This never would have happened if you had just lead him back to his room. Why didn't you exactly?" He growled at the Sidhe.

"There are plenty of reason why I didn't think it was necessary. We are only 2 days into the school year, no one should have been walking around outside anyway. Excuse me for thinking that it would be safe to let one student have a 5 minute walk back to his room by himself." Elina cut Ivan off before he could make another remark.

"Ryinon, you knew that Mr. Crux was weak after his release of magic. There is just as much chance that he could have fallen asleep on his way there. What is the real reason you let him go by himself?" Elina asked calmly. Oberon seemed to blush, but it was always difficult to tell with him.

"It was a mistake, but I allowed my curiosity to get the better of me. Crux mentioned earlier that you knew of the reason his soul was loose and I really wanted to know what happened to cause his magic to be like this." Elina could see the curiosity sparkle in his eyes and knew that there was no way she could get out of telling him. He wouldn't let this go until he knew and she really didn't want him pounding the boy for answers. Might as well tell him now, but the fact that Ivan was there didn't make it easier.

"I need both of you to keep this as quiet as you can. This information cannot be released to anyone. Understand?" She waited for the nods of her professors before continuing. Ivan looked very intrigued by this and Elina groaned in her head. She knew he didn't go for underage students, but loved to bed the most interesting ones. Hopefully, there would be a few more years before she had to worry about that.

"What's this about? I noticed he was a little stronger than the average wizard at his age, with less control, but that was all." Ivan said.

"That's because you met him after he had released almost 95% of his power back into the school. He was at five percent power when his magic decided to cause an earthquake. Would you like to think what would've happened if he was at full?" Ryinon said snidely. Ivan looked a little shocked and more intrigued than ever, which wasn't a good sign as far as Elina was concerned.

"The reason he started his majority early is this, he survived a Dementor attack." Both professors looked unimpressed. "What I mean to say is that he was kissed and survived. Mostly unharmed as the story goes." There was the shocked look she was expecting. "There are many factors in play as to why he is the only one that has ever survived, but that should answer your question as to his loose soul. After getting pulled roughly from the body like that it would take awhile to get back into sorts. I fear that this little escapade with the school won't help him any in that aspect."

Ivan still looked confused so Ryinon informed him that not only had the youngest student that had ever been accepted to the school almost collapse the school on his first day, but his soul was also part of the school now, unintentionally.

"This is very bad, we have no idea what the school might do with part of his soul, did it even get sent to the right place? It would be very bad if the magic messed up and the Core tried to use his soul as energy. Is it even still connected to him?" Ivan was bouncing back in forth between intrigued and nervous now. "The school has never had the soul of one still living inside of it. What do we know?" Elina sighed some more and started pacing.

"As far as I can tell it has been placed with the others, and the school shouldn't confuse it for usable energy. However, you are correct in your assessment of the dangers. I feel we have already begun to feel the reverberations from this event. Mister Crux is indeed powerful enough in this state to start a earthquake, but I don't feel that is exactly what happened. I think the school itself rebelled the idea of him getting hurt. If Iskola has already accepted him as part of the Core then I fear much worse things in the horizon if he should be attacked again." Before she could continue the door to the room opened and Gunther slipped inside.

Gunther was as much a part of the school as the Core was and, in fact, he could be counted as such. Gunther was the name of any such creature that the school produced to do any menial tasks that were necessary. They changed shape as often as a new school year started, and were almost never seen by the students. Much like the house elves that the Wizards of the world seemed to abuse so much, but Gunther was more an extension of the school than another species. The ghostly visage seemed to bow before her and stood to attention.

"Damage report?"

_'All fixed, Headmistress, excepting a slight crookedness to the East Tower.'_

"The Divination tower?" She thought for a second and shrugged. "Chances are the old bats will like it better that way, you may leave it. How is She?"

_'She was upset, Mistress, but not anymore. She is patient, but eagerly awaiting their punishment.'_

"How does She feel about the boy?" Elina rubbed the bridge of her nose and kept pacing. This day wasn't getting any better.

_'They have come together, Mistress. She didn't understand at first, but the others pushed it. She could not let the bigger part go. He is closer to her now than any before. He is part of Her now, even if he is not aware. We can feel him now, Mistress, unlike the students. She questions this development, but does not want to let him go.'_

Elina felt a shiver go up her spine at the words and stopped pacing in shock, her professors didn't take the news any better.

"You can't mean...She hasn't talked to him has she?" Dreading the answer however it went.

_'She tried, Mistress. She doesn't know if he heard, or understand. She is unfamiliar with the way, but will practice more. She does not think he will remember, or if another chance will come. Already Gunther watches over him. Gunther does not think he or She is ready yet, but time will come soon enough. Must go now, Goodbye Mistress.'_ With a wisp of smoke he was gone. Silence fell in the room for many minutes before any started talking again.

"Please, tell me I fell asleep and that was a nightmare. Pinch me." Elina went to glare at Oberon, but couldn't move fast enough to see the slap that Ivan gave him.

"Your stupidity is showing, best you cover it up." Ivan glared down on him with red eyes that Elina had only the displeasure once to see.

"If Gunther was telling the truth, that could mean very big problems." Oberon said not even glancing at the hovering vampire that looked ready to suck him dry.

"Not as few as I had hoped, but not as many as I had feared." Elina answered. "Chances are She won't reveal the connection until She feels he is ready so we may have many months yet. If anything it just means that I won't have to pay attention as much because She will constantly be monitoring him."

"You can't just be brushing this off like nothing has happened. This is huge. The Alumni will want to know not to mention all of the governments. To think that one boy should have all of that power in his hands. It might be better if he were just to die." Ivan grumbled, but before he could utter another word the ground seemed to shake beneath his feet. The shocked and scared look told her just how much this all could turn very bad, very quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, honest. I'm sorry." The shaking stopped.

"Ivan. Try not to get yourself killed before the school year starts." Elina had to glare at him. How could he be so stupid sometimes?

"I can't seem to decide if this boy is the luckiest or unluckiest person that has ever existed." Ryinon added in.

"Neither can the fates it seems." Elina heard Ivan mutter under his breath.

"His old Headmaster informed me of his propensity to get into trouble, but I must admit I never thought it would be this bad. Nonetheless, all of this information won't be released to anyone until Mister Crux himself has gotten the hang of it. Am I understood?" She waited until they nodded before heading out the door. She still had to deal with the people that caused this mess. Just as she was leaving she heard Oberon commenting to Ivan.

"Then again, who would really want a Goddess to be watching their every move?"

Elina stalked away ignoring the last comment. There were very few people in the world that knew the truth of Iskola, but those that did protected Her with their lives. Ivan and Ryinon were two of them, as was she. Once she was a good distance away from the room she slowed and caressed the wall as she moved. The warmth beneath her finger tips felt more alive than ever, pulsing to a beat that no one in the world understood.

She center back to herself as she approached the room that the four perpetrators were in. With one move the door was open and she was inside. There were 5 people in the room currently. The four were almost shaking and their advisor was doing his best to look stern, but she could tell he was scared for his students.

"Alright then, you three." She pointed to the lackeys that hadn't spoken in the hallway earlier. "You will be helping Professor Lux for three months. He is the potions professor and is always looking for good help collecting ingredients. You will help him with anything he wants and I do mean _anything_." They didn't look as scared as any upperclassmen would've, but from the horrified look on their advisors face she imagined they would by the first day of classes. "For the last of you." She stared at the pale, dark haired boy. "Follow me."

She then stalked out of the room quickly and didn't wait for him to catch up. He had been following he silently for a few minutes before he spoke up.

"Where are we going?" The boy shifted a little, but still stayed about 2 steps behind her. He almost crashed into her when she suddenly stopped.

"I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt, because I know that most of the information about Mister Crux is secret and there is no way you could've known what enormous shit pile you have stepped into and spread. I imagine if I told you half about what I knew about Mister Crux you wouldn't want to get near him with a ten foot pole. However, ignorance is not a good enough excuse to ignore what you tried to do to your classmate." She turned and glared down at him. Her green eyes were sharper than blades and his red ones lowered quickly.

"What do you mean, Headmistress?" The boy choked out.

"I'm not sure what you take me for Mister Donkinof, but I can assure you that I am not unobservant or slow. Did you think I wouldn't notice what kind of glamour you tried to throw over Mister Crux. Did you think that I would be so scared of your father not to punish you appropriately for it? I will be the first one to inform you that you are _not_ your father, and while in my school you belong to me. I will chose your punishment, not him." She stared down at the chastened boy.

"I apologize, Headmistress, it will not happen again."

"I agree. However, I will also make sure of it. You shall serve Mister Crux for a month." The face that stared at her was horrified and shocked.

"No! You can't be serious. I won't!" He seemed close to yelling. Elina grinded her teeth before answering back.

"Is that punishment not enough for you? You tried to put Mister Crux under an _enslavement_ glamour. You tried to make another student, your _pet_. I recognized the signature as soon as I was in proximity to it. Even Professor Danik felt it. If you had succeeded the punishment would've been much worse. I would have expelled you on the spot. I'm still temped to. I should throw you under your own spell and leave you to the wolves. You have no idea what you could have caused." The boy was blushing now and looking abashed, but Elina would have none of it.

"You will accept this punishment until I see fit to release you from Mister Crux's hold. When you have learned your lesson I will let you go without another word to the matter. You father does not even have to know." The boy was slumped now, still in denial. "The only reason I am giving you this chance to stay at the school is because I know exactly what awaits you if I throw you out. Will you accept the punishment or will you leave?" The boy looked up at her now. The determination was in his eyes. She knew that there was a long way to go before she could begin to forgive his for his misdeed, but maybe it would be different after she had gotten some sleep.

"I will accept the punishment, Headmistress, please, don't throw me out." The boy was tearful now, but Elina still felt the vengefulness of Iskola pump through her veins.

"Very well, I will make the arrangements. You are to stay close to him at all times except for the classes you have separate. I will move an extra bed into Mister Crux's room. That is where you will be staying until the punishment is over. That also means that you will be in the Infirmary until Mister Crux is released." She took a ring out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Put that on. It will prevent you for making any moves to hurt Mister Crux and will force you to obey when he orders you." He had a glazed look on his face like he hadn't accepted it yet.

"What if he...I mean...Do I have to follow all of his orders?" He looked slightly sick to his stomach at the prospect.

"If I were you, I would hope that Mister Crux is a much better person to you than you would have been to him." He looked even more sick. "That being said you will not have to obey any rules that go against the school's and there a few others that won't activate the ring. I suppose you will have to figure those out by yourself." She continued walking in silence until she got the Infirmary. She stared the boy who was still considering the ring in his hand. She knew that he was still considering the different choices, but knew that there was only one real path to follow. With a sigh boy slipped the ring onto his right ring finger and stared in a glazed horror for a few more seconds before she interrupted.

"Very good. Now we will stay until he wakes and then explain the situation. That ring will not come off unless I remove it. Follow me." The door opened to the very white room and the two entered.

-FW-GW-

The two red heads couldn't stop coughing as they exited the smoke filled room.

"Pretty good, Georgie. The pixie wings definitely helped the strength, but we need less powdered moonstone. What do you think?" Fred lean against the wall outside their lab and coughed some more.

"The swamps are almost done now Freddie. Next we can work on the darkness powder. I think I know the right ingredient, but Knockturn isn't the safest place to go anymore." He brushed off a bit of green slime that seemed attached to one of his legs.

"No place is really safe anymore George. If we need the ingredient we will be careful about it. Moody was talking about a shopping trip later in the week, we can tag along." They grinned at each other across the hall. Annoying Moody was one of the few pastimes they had left in house. Everyone was too serious now to be much fun, but catching Moody off guard was as fun as anything else. The retired Auror had only been caught once by the pair, but he had yet to live it down. After a few minutes Fred stopped smiling. "We need to work faster George."

"Charlie and Bill are coming in the week. We should work on the flame resistant underwear first, before the clothes eating slime." George answered in response to a question that only he had heard in Fred's voice.

"We could go faster if Harry were here."

"He did have the most interesting uses for that enchantment talent of his. Do we still have that collection of wands he gave us?" George asked. Fred seemed to nod.

"Yeah. I left them hidden in the corner spot. They will only hold one or two spells you know." Fred answered.

"We should ask dad about the skill, he seemed to know how to do most of that stuff."

"We can't. You know that." Fred deflated even as he answered. Arthur Weasley had taken on more responsibility than anyone else since the start of the summer. The only times he was alone anymore was when he was sleeping and even then Molly seemed to hold him closer than ever. As if he might disappear if she didn't clutch him tight enough.

Fred and George didn't know what would happen if mother was to lose one of them, but could only imagine that it wouldn't be a pretty sight. The both shivered in sync.

"We can always find someone else. We focus on what we can do for now. I'm sure we can get the underwear working in under a week if we postpone sleeping." They nodded to each other and straightened up.

With only a glance and another nod they moved in front of the door and with a flash the door was open and they were inside battling the invisible ghost in the smog.

They had been helping the war effort as much as anyone else, maybe more. They were running on thin air since the beginning of summer. However, it only took one time to keep them going. The other people that lived in the house started calling them the loudest ghosts that existed because they never saw the twins only heard the loud bangs that came from their rooms at all times of day and night.

No one stopped them though, even Molly had given to just making sure they ate and slept some. They all understood just how important the work was. All it had taken was one time.

One time in the middle of a particularly intense battle one of the Order had accidently set off a still experimental firework that the twins had given her. The commotion that it caused saved five lives and let the entire Order escape without interruption. It was the first time that their invention were used, but not the last. They longer the fighting seemed to last to more vicious the twins seemed to get. It was only a matter of time before they caught the attention of someone they shouldn't have.

* * *

AN: Alright, so I _may_ have felt a _little_ guilty about the cliffhanger, but not much. The only reason I put it there was because I wanted to know if I could do one. Turns out I can...

So for those of you no doubt wondering. The statement still stands that there is no current pairing that I have planned for Jude/Harry. I don't think there is going to be any and there definitely won't be any between Harry and the Vampire...Who you still don't know the first name of... right. Sorry, that wasn't my intention, but it just never came up. You'll hear it in the next chapter though. This servant thing won't ever turn into anything _sexual_ so get you mind out of the gutter to dirty, dirty fiends. Elina has a giant headache and you all got introduced to another teacher. Still a vampire though. Should get some different ones soon.

Anyway, I might have felt guilty about not updating in awhile, but this will probably be the only time that I update twice in the same week. This chapter is shorter than the others by far, but the muse was calling (more like dragging) me to writing table. There might be more grammatical errors in this one than the others, but if so please forgive me.

I love writing Fred and George. Such delicious plots those two make.

Ta-ta for now,

~Rain


	9. Boogeyman

**Author's Note:**

Recap: Harry has once again done the impossible and survived a Dementor's kiss. He escaped, but his cousin didn't. He went home to find that sometime during the night his relatives had been murdered. He escapes, but is later found by Dumbledore. He is taken the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters and told that he is danger to himself and others. He has Magically Matured which makes him very powerful, but because it happened so young and without training he has no control over his magic. He has to go to a new school, but before he can get there he goes through a 2 month training spree with the members of the Order.

After a test of his powers and knowledge the newly christened Judius Crux is off to the next great adventure. On his first day at school, he gets into a fight with a group of vampires. He wins and in a spectacular move he shows off just how much power he has...that will probably turn out great, right?

After getting introduced to most of his seven roommates he gets dragged away by an upperclassman to talk to Professor Oberon about the strange sight that he sees in the common room. Oberon informs him that the school has accidently taken a piece of his soul when taking his magic. He is on his way back to his room after releasing a large amount of magic when something stops him.

Disclaimer: I don't own the work of J.K. Rowling and never will. In no way will I purposefully try to plagiarize anyone else's work. All ideas about how magic works or the Magical Realm are my own.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Boogeyman**

* * *

Within the first seconds on waking up Jude knew exactly where he was. He didn't even have time to open his eyes before he smelled the too sterile air or the disinfectant than always permeated throughout these places. The bright white of the walls and beds only confirmed this fact. He felt sore, but well rested. He couldn't quite remember what lead him to this spot, but it had to be a record for him to get into the Hospital Wing before school even started.

The last thing he remembered was walking down the hall and a red flash. He groaned. That was never a good sign, but the fact that he had ended up in the Hospital Wing certainly was.

"Ah, I see you are awake now Mister Crux. Good, I have better things to do today than wait for you." As soon as Jude heard the Headmistresses voice he jolted up, or tried to rather, because soon found that was a bad idea.

"Ar' toth dissberbing mine patient?" The first thing Jude noticed about this particular creature was his purple skin. The second thing was the antennas that protruded from his head. It wasn't until he had placed his hand on Jude's forehead that he noticed the four fingers and the pink eyes. He was shocked, but tried to contain himself from making more of a fool of himself. "Goud, goud. H'art ya now?"

It took Jude a second to realize it was asking him something. "I'm sorry what?"

"Healer Janis, we have no time for this. It is obvious that the boy is back in shape. Nothing even happened to him besides a little bump on the head. He has things to do today, as do I. You will not convince me to allow him to stay the night, he needs to be in his dorm. You however, do not need another lab rat. Didn't you just get a new intern?" The Headmistress stared down at the bug like creature from her chair beside his bed. It was a talent to look down at someone while sitting, but it looked like the Headmistress had perfected it.

Jude heard, what must have been, the Healer give a cluck and scuttle away. He almost allowed himself to relax before he saw the other person standing at his bedside. The pale vampire from the first night was standing next to her, but looked much different. He had lost the confident posture from the night and seemed to be fiddling with a ring on his finger.

"What is going on?" Jude finally asked.

"Right, Mister Crux I am sure that you don't remember this, but earlier in the day Mister Donkinof attacked you. He tried to throw a glamour over you and failed. This caused an earthquake to erupt beneath the school." Jude vaguely remembered some shaking and a voice, but not much after that. "You were able to focus enough to contain it after a little while, but the East Tower now is crooked." Jude blushed and opened his mouth to apologized, but was cut off by the Headmistress. "This is not as much your fault as you would imagine. The person at major fault is Mister Donkinof." At this she nodded to the boy at her side. Head bowed in submission he looked nothing like Jude remembered.

"I see. What will be done about it?" Jude asked slowly. He had heard to that the school's idea of punishment was much different from Hogwarts, but didn't know by how much.

"Mister Donkinof has already accepted his punishment. He is to serve as your _helper_ for at least a month, or until I am satisfied." The boy flinched and gave a shudder at her words. Jude though was in much more of a shock.

"I'm sorry..._what_? You can't be serious. You are giving him to me as a... servant?" He was baffled. How could a school even use this as a kind of punishment.

"There is the alternative of him being expelled." The Headmistress stared at him with eyes that could piece steel. Jude scratched his head. "Am I to take from this that you are refusing his servitude?"

"I guess so, wouldn't that be better. I don't really..." Before he could continue he was cut off by the frantic vampire at her side.

"Please, don't reject this. Please!" He fell to his knees. Jude was more confused that he felt he had ever been. There was obviously something that had changed, but he had no idea what was going on. The Headmistress took pity on him.

"Mister Donkinof, explain to Mister Crux exactly why you don't want to be expelled." The boy looked tearful now, but Jude looked away unable to take the look.

"You would be signing my death warrant." He stated. Jude felt his eyes couldn't get any wider. He didn't know if this was some kind of tradition in the Magical Realm, but if so something was terribly wrong about this world.

"I don't understand."

"Maybe you can get Mister Donkinof to explain it to you later. I have better things to do the sit at your bedside, Mister Crux. I require an answer now." She glared at him and pulled out a pocket watch to check the time.

"Why can't you just think of another punishment, or have him serve somewhere else? I don't want a slave, or anything like this." Jude tried to reason with her.

"This is the only way I can be sure that he does not make the mistake again. The humiliation should knock some sense into him. There are only two choices to this punishment. Either he follows you, or he is expelled. The punishment fits the crime, Mister Crux. Now chose." She taped her watch to close it and stood gracefully.

"I...that is to say...there is no other option is there? I accept." A bright light suddenly appeared from the ring around the vampire's finger.

"Good, my job here is done. He has a bed added to your room, though I suppose you can place him anywhere you would like. He will follow you around unless given orders otherwise. However, you cannot just release him, that would not be fair. Have fun." She glided from the room without another word.

Jude sat on his bed for many minutes trying to understand exactly what happened, but still didn't have it figured out when he noticed that the vampire was still kneeling on the floor next to his bed.

"Just, get up alright?" The boy moved quickly into a standing position, his head still bowed. "That's even worse. Can you just act normal?"

"But I am not normal, Sir."

"Oh, Merlin's teeth. I don't need this right now. I don't need you to follow me around. I don't need a servant. I don't know who I pissed off, but I would really like to stop having this happen." He wanted to scream into his pillow, but imagined that would just make him look even more like a nut case. "Just sit down on a bed, okay. Try to relax. Be yourself." The boy looked at him incredulously. Jude had been sure that he was 18 or 19 last night, but he looked younger now. "Just tell me your name."

"I am Mikael Donkinof, sir. I am a turned vampire and is 16 years old." He answer succinctly.

"Stop calling me, sir. You are older than me for Merlin's sake. Are you actually 16 or were you turned at 16 and are older." He blushed when Donkinof stared at him with a look that clearly meant he thought Jude was stupid.

"I am actually 16. I was turned at 8 years old by my father. You should know that a turning will not stop the aging process on a person with magic. It is only muggle vampires that never grow older than the age they were when turned." He stared down at Jude with blood red eyes. The rest of the conversation was interrupted by the Healer coming back in.

"Whysh yoa still heare? Shuff, shuff." Jude moved out of the bed as quickly as he could and was out the door a second later. The vampire boy was only a few steps behind. After they had gotten a far enough distance away Jude stopped.

"Um, do you have any idea where we are?" Jude asked the vampire embarrassed. The vampire gave off a look of exasperation.

"I will guide you back to the dorm hall, sir." He started walking again.

"Oh, not this, sir, thing again. Call me Jude. Alright?"

"I suppose I can do that." The vampire was staring at him with confusion. "Why would you want me to though. I did just try to attack you earlier." He fiddled with the ring a little more. Jude had a feeling that the only reason that he was being nice was because it had been this or death, which he still didn't fully understand.

"You probably won't understand this, but my world is a constantly changing place. Friends can become enemies. Enemies can become friends. It never stays still for long. Sometimes I'm surprised if I find my shoes in the same place I put them the day before. I have to tell you, I don't really have any use for a servant. I already have too many enemies to count, but I could really do with some more friends." Jude gave a little sigh to himself. If he was paying any more attention to the vampire leading the way he would have seen a look of complete bafflement.

Once they reached the first floor corridor Donkinof stopped.

"Before we going inside," He paused to think for a few more seconds before giving a mental shrug. "You may call me Mikael." Jude smiled at him and nodded.

"Great, so how do I get into the common room?" He looked at the wall where the door had been before, now blank. Mikael gave him a look of exasperation.

"You can't be serious. You don't even know how to work the common rooms?" He sneered. Jude didn't know whether to be happy that the vampire seemed to be back to himself or embarrassed.

"I've had a busy couple of days." Jude stared at Mikael until he looked down. "Look, just tell me how to get in, okay?" Ready for this conversation to be over with.

"Place your had on the wall." Mikael told him. Jude stared suspiciously, but did as asked. "Now think of your common room. Some of the upperclassmen add more protections to their rooms like passwords and such, but this is the basic setting." Jude was shocked when a door appeared underneath his hand and back up a little.

"Ready?" Jude waited for Mikael to nod before opening the door.

The room was much different from the last time he had seen it. It was much larger than before with giant windows on one side of the room that showed a vision of the outdoors, but the light only seemed to reach into half the room. The other wall still had a giant fireplace, but it didn't seem to be lighting the room nearly as well as it had before. There were still chairs and tables spaced throughout the room, but the light side had more of the lounge chairs and seating clusters, while the darker side had tables with low hanging balls of light that were obviously made for studying. Jude wasn't quite sure why there was so much space for only 7 people to use, well 8 with Mikael now, but it seemed a little bit much. He noticed Ren lounging on a giant chair near the fireplace that should've dwarfed her, but didn't. She was staring at something behind him and looked more than a little peeved.

"I leave you alone for five minutes and you disappear for a day, only to come back dragging in road kill." Jude winced at the glare that was mutual for the vampire and shadow demon. He knew he had to stop something bad from happening when he heard Mikael let out a growl.

"Enough, stop that, both of you. Don't go starting fights." He directed this to both them. Mikael glared at him for a moment before directing himself back at Ren.

"Don't you know who I am?" He had apparently moved straight back into exactly who he was before. Ren smirked at him in an decidedly unfriendly way.

"Of course I do. I also know exactly what that ring is. A leech on a leash, this day is certainly getting better." Ren bared her teeth to him. Mikael was about to say something when Ren ignored him and spoke to Jude. "So what do you have to do to get yourself a vampire pet?" Mikael glared and Jude blushed.

"It's his punishment. That's what the Headmistress told me at least." Jude shrugged and moved to a couch near Ren. He laid down on it slowly, still exhausted from earlier. Ren stared curiously at Mikael who had taken a seat in another of the giant chairs like Rens.

"Punishment for what?" Ren asked.

"He attacked me again." Jude stated easily while yawning. He was surprised when Ren sprang out of her seat and onto Mikael. She grabbed his throat and snarled. Jude jumped out of his seat at the quick motions. "Dear Merlin, what are you doing Ren? Stop that. I'm fine obviously." He moved over and tried to pull Ren off of the choking boy. She got off of him after a few seconds, but continued glaring mutinously. "What caused that?"

"You are as despicable as your _father_." She spat the word out like it was diseased. Jude looked between the two even more confused.

"What does his father have to do with any of this?" Jude asked the raging girl. She looked in surprise at him and then realization hit her.

"Of course, you wouldn't know would you?" She smirked at him for a few seconds before continuing. "Your little vampire pet over there has a _famous_ father. Don't you?" She smirked winningly at the glaring vampire. "How is Lord Boogeyman doing?"

Jude was very lost. "Sorry, who is Lord Boogeyman?"

"The parasite's father is a _very_ old and _very_ powerful vampire named Lord Donkinof. He is the founder and leader of his coven. People in the Realm like to refer to him as Lord Boogeyman." She saw Jude's still confused face and continued. "Well, that is the correct word in your tongue I think. The creature that lurks in the shadows and snatches up wandering children. The muggles even have children's scary stories after him." She lost her grin at this point. "Of course, he is very real and much more terrifying than you can imagine."

Mikael was quiet and staring at the fire now. His form more hunched than before. Jude got the impression that Mikael didn't like his supposed father very much. He thought back to Snape's unfair treatment of him and could sympathize. He couldn't imagine what it was like to have a father that the majority of the world despised. Ren continued.

"He is over 2000 years old at this point. The third oldest in existence and by far the most terrifying. He got his start as an enforcer, but later started developing his own following and now has one of the largest coven's in the world and the most secretive. Most of the member's never get let out of his not inconsiderable property. Your little puppet here is the first new face we have seen out of the Donkinof clan in a century. Of course, that doesn't mean that the monster isn't growing stronger, he is just keeping it to himself. Isn't that right leech?" Mikael spun around to bar his fangs at her and start to growl. Jude expected him to jump her and start a fight from the decidedly evil look on his face, but he surprisingly didn't.

"You know nothing of his world, do not speak so casually of it." Mikael spat out.

"I know how his special kind of evil will spread if no checked." Ren glared and turned back to Jude to continue explaining. "He has grown his coven enough that there are now as many members as there are years of his life. Every year he gets to pick one more person to add to his collection, but only one. The First and Second enforce that rule upon him, but can do very little else. Donkinof chooses a child who is in some way exceptional and adds them to his collection." Jude was terrified for a second. That was one of the most terrible things he had heard. Mikael seemed to mistake this look for something else because he soon spat out.

"Don't worry, you're a little too old for his tastes." He glared into the fire again. Ren stood and snarled at him, more upset than ever. Jude didn't understand what he meant, but knew it had to have been bad from the way Ren looked like she wanted to start a war.

"Okay, this is obviously a bad subject." Jude paused and distracted Ren with a tap to her claw like arms. "Did I miss anything today?" She sat down again, but continued glaring at Mikael.

"Mani came over and told us that tomorrow we would get to pick our classes and meet some of the teachers." She relaxed a little in her chair. "That sidhe was also with him, and informed me that you had been detained. If I knew you had been attacked I would have demanded to see you." She said casually.

"No need for that. Just a little bump to the head and a trip to the infirmary. I'm good as new. Pretty normal day." Jude yawned and laid down on the couch again when he was sure that the other two people in the room weren't going to attack each other. He didn't notice when both turned to look at him strangely.

"If that is your normal day I would hate to see an unusual one." Ren declared. Jude seemed a little out of sorts when he answered with a statement that left the other two even more baffled.

"Well, being at the wrong end of your werewolf godfather's muzzle on a full moon wasn't the best day I ever had." He trailed off for a second before shaking his head, not the worst either. He sat up to look around the room. He found what he was looking for in a second. It was a sturdy looking wooden door with a gold handle. Jude knew instantly that it would lead to his room. He stood up a little excited and went over too it. It was only after a few moments he noticed he was being followed and turned to the vampire behind him. "Look this will be the first time in my room and I would like to see it alone first. You understand?" He blushed, but Mikael nodded. "Okay, just come in after a little while okay? Chances are I will be asleep."

He gave a large grin and opened the door to his room and stepped inside.

-MD-

Mikael started with undisguised curiosity as the human that he was supposed to be serving left the room with a smile. He turned back around and sat at the seat near the fireplace again. Ignoring the glare from the girl demon.

"There of plenty of other seats in this room. Go sit in one of them." She spat.

"None are as close to the fire as this one and it is chilly. It also gives good light." He grabbed a book off the shelf and sat back down. He didn't know how long his new master intended him to wait, but it was better safe than sorry. "Also, I don't actually have to listen to you." The book was focused on defensive magic that Mikael still hadn't gotten the hang of. He had been sitting quietly for a few minutes before the demon decided to interrupt his reading.

"You should have been expelled." He glared at the Baccurus girl. There was no doubt about her clan from her looks, but he had been surprised when she knew right off the bat who he was.

"Good that it wasn't your decision to make then." He kept reading until he felt her hands grab his chin and force him to look into her black eyes. He could see the fury raging.

"Don't dismiss me so causally little parasite. I know exactly what you tried to do to Jude, even if he doesn't have a clue." She snarled at him.

"How did you figure it out?" He was unsurprised that someone like her knew what he had tried to do.

"He wasn't bruised in anyway, or had any obvious injuries, that means that you didn't attack him physically. The only other major talent young vampires have is their glamours. You didn't use a basic one, because if you had the Headmistress wouldn't have punished you so much. Which leaves only one option." She squeezed his chin more and looked ready to kill him. "The enslavement glamour is illegal to use on another of the Realm. Did you forget that?"

"He is human." Mikael shrugged. Human's were a food source, nothing more.

"He defeated you without sweat the first day, what do you think could have possibly tipped the scales so much in a day?"

"He was weak." Mikael stated. "He was coming out of some professor's office and he was obviously tired and weak. Myself and three of my roommates were coming back from a hunt largely unsatisfied. The amount of magic he was letting of was mouthwatering and we knew he wouldn't be able to protect himself. Too much of an opportunity to let go." He shrugged. He wasn't going to apologize for attack someone weaker than him. It was his greatest instinct. He couldn't have resisted even if he wanted to. "It was unfortunate for us that someone decided to step in on his behalf." Ren seemed surprised by this casual statement. It was obvious to Mikael that this girl had a prejudice against vampires, but was probably largely sheltered by her family. He could no more change who he was then she could.

She backed away from him. Mikael doubted that she would try to attack again. It was an expellable offense to kill another student on campus. There were so many loopholes that it made the actual rule worthless, but Mikael could tell that she was the type of person who would follow that rule anyway.

"Who was it?" Mikael asked her calmly. She had known just a little too much about how his father worked and only someone with personal experience could know that much. She stayed silent for a few minutes before answering.

"My best friend. We were inseparable for 6 years until one day she vanished without another word. As far as I know, she hasn't been seen since." She looked at him for a second before looking back at the fire. They were both lost in thoughts before Mikael spoke up again.

"She's fine. Kora is one of the few who survived the transformation." He didn't speak after that for awhile. His throat had closed at his thought to tell her more. She looked at him surprised.

"Have you..." She trailed off when she saw him shaking his head. Mikael couldn't tell her anymore than that and he didn't want to know anymore of her past. The people they were before their _father_ came for them were completely different than what they became. You lost parts of yourself the longer you lived in the house. He knew it as well as anyone. Desperate to change the subject he moved on.

"What is the human like?" The demon scoffed.

"You better stop calling him that. You are going to be serving him. How long is the punishment to last?" She asked.

"A month or more, the Headmistress was very upset at me for the attempted glamour." They were quiet again for a little while.

"Have you ever done it before? Successfully, I mean?" The girl couldn't stop herself from asking and he couldn't stop himself from answering.

"Yes, we all have." He didn't have to elaborate and didn't want to.

"Look, I don't like you. I think your kind are a parasite to the world and should all be killed off. That being said, I will leave you alone if you leave me alone. Got it?" The girl demon stalked away as soon as he had nodded. He read the book for a little longer before he couldn't contain his curiosity anymore and went to the human's door. It hadn't disappeared after he had gone inside and Mikael knew that it was waiting for him. He almost groaned at the thought of not being able to sleep in his giant bed for another month. The silk sheets were to die for and it was so tasteful. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and excitedly opened the door.

The first thing he noticed was how disgustingly normal it was. There was a full size bed covered in green sheets. A small fireplace in one corner along with a smaller bed that Mikael could guess was for him, he groaned at the thought of his old bed again. The floor was hardwood with some plush rugs. The walls a swirly green color. There was an attached bathroom that Mikael couldn't see fully along with two other doors that was closed. Mikael guessed the one room was a closet, but his room didn't have one so it was a little confusing. It was a confusing room for someone as odd as the human to have, but Mikael noticed how at peace the human's face was asleep in the bed.

He shrugged and moved to his own tinier bed. He noticed the bed was warmed already when he sat down. Then when he went to take off his shoes he noticed them already gone and lined up next to his trunk. He shook his head in understanding. The room was normal at first glance, but there was something very magical underneath it all. It was very much like it's owner.

That was the last thought in his head as he drifted to sleep in the too comfortable bed.

-JC(HP)-

Jude groaned as the light hit his eyes in the morning. He hadn't remembered seeing any windows in the room last night, but he had been a little out of sorts. He had laid in bed for almost 30 minutes contemplating calling Hermione and Ron. As he lay in bed he started spinning how the conversation would go in his head.

In two days he had been attacked by vampires twice. Started an earthquake that knocked a tower crooked. Lost a part of his soul to the school. Gotten into and out of the hospital wing. Gained a vampire servant. And finally, made friends with a shadow demon. So he laid spinning and in the entire time he had been awake he couldn't think of any way to spin of any of that for the positive. His Potter luck had attacked him again and his was only beginning to realize how completely out of depth he was in this world.

"Good, your awake." There was the servant know. Mikael's head had popped over his as he opened his eyes. It turned out the bright light in the room was from a giant ball of light that appeared over his bed. From Mikael's smirk he guessed that it was his doing.

"Go away." Jude mumbled and rolled over, or tried to, because he soon found himself lifted into the air by two cold hands and dumped into an even colder shower. He yelped pretty loudly. "Oh Merlin! Let me out!" But the vampire was out the door before Jude could say it. He quickly turned the water warm and leaped out of the shower. He sighed at the fact he was now too awake to go back to sleep and decided to take a shower.

It was about 15 minutes before he stepped back of the bathroom with a towel on because he hadn't brought in clothes when being tossed into the cold shower. Mikael was pacing in front of two doors that Jude had seen last night, but had been too tired to explore. He stopped when he spotted Jude and his eyes widened.

"On Morgana's eyes, what put you through a blender?" Jude took a second to realize that he was talking about Jude's rather scarred body. Jude turned back to the bed to get more clothes on when he heard Mikael growl. "What did _that_?"

Jude knew exactly what he was talking about. The one Uncle Vernon punishment that had ever gotten out of control. It was years old now, most of the scars had disappeared, but for those looking closely it was easy to see. On his right shoulder blade carved in very small letters was the word 'freak'. Aunt Petunia had kicked Vernon out of the house for 2 months after it happened, but eventually took him back with the promise that it would never happen again. After that the Dursley's went back to their regular neglecting.

Jude sighed, but answered. "We have all survived our battles. The past should stay there." He slipped on a shirt and forgot about the word once again. The last time he had spoken of it was to Ron in their second year. He never was the most observant of friends, but he was passionate. He had almost stomped halfway down the hall to tell McGonagall before Harry had stopped him. "Anyway, why did you wake me up so rudely?"

"Where do these doors go?" He pointed to the ones behind him. "I have been up for hours, but I have yet to figure out a way inside. I figured that you could probably open them and woke you up." He smiled.

"You woke me up to open doors for you?" Harry groaned mentally at the answer.

"Well, that and your advisors should be showing up soon to help figure out classes." Mikael answered. Jude sighed but walked to the doors anyway.

"Alright, what is behind door number one?" Jude opened the door and walked inside with Mikael close behind. There were large tables covering all three walls and different tools stacked on each one. He knew instantly what the tools were for, but Mikael seemed not to have a clue. "They are enchanting tools." He answered the unasked question.

Mikael looked at him surprised.

"You know how to enchant?" He asked shocked.

"I know a little. I have been working on some pretty neat ones though. It is more of a hobby." Jude blushed but rubbed his fingers over the tools in the room. Much better than the ones he had in his trunk he almost didn't want to use them. They were master's tools not for someone still learning.

Mikael was still standing at him incredulously.

"You know enchanting is a lost art, right?"

"Yes, I was told by teacher that the more advanced forms of the magic were lost to time when Runes stopped being the written language of choice. It is still useful in warding, spell crafting, and wand making though, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to learn some of the dead magic language. I always did like he described them to me though. 'Jude, Runes are the language of magic. If you want to understand magic you must understand runes.'" Jude couldn't wait to get his fingers deep into room, but there was still another room to look at. Mikael was still looking shocked. "Hey, there are probably some vampire's old enough to know the magic right?"

"Unfortunately, all of the races that are old enough to have memories of the times when enchantments were used widely don't have a type of magic that is compatible to powering the runes. There are some old enough that keep the memories of the skills in case they find someone good enough to use them, but that type of magic is rare." He stared straight at Jude when he said this, but Jude shrugged it off. It was hardly the rarest thing about him. "You are an enigma."

"Um...thanks? Let's check out the other room." Jude went to open the second door, a bit bigger than the previous one and Jude could feel the pulses of magic surrounding it. He opened it and was immediately surprised by the size of it. If this room had existed next to his room in the real world there would not have been any room next to it for the enchanting room.

It was a large gym like space. There was a running track and different size weights and work out spaces to the side. In the middle of the track was a large stage that Jude recognized instantly as a dueling platform. Mikael looked as amazed as he did. Jude knew instantly why the room existed. This school was made to prepare its students for anything that came after it. Jude had to prepare for a war. He could already see some dummies to the sides and different magical devices that Moody and Remus had introduced to him personally. His face got very serious and he nodded before exiting. He would been in here every day preparing from now on. He had to learn how to protect his friends and fast.

"I...have never even heard of something like this before. There are training rooms in the offense and defense classes like these, but for one student to have an entire one to himself." He looked at Jude in amazement again. Jude just shrugged again. The door to the arena closed and left Mikael staring at him was curiosity.

"It is a Preparatory school, right?" Jude left it at that and exited the room.

The rest of the group seemed to be there except for the twins that he hadn't met yet. Mani and Arcadian were sitting at the center of the circle of people and waved them over.

"We haven't been introduced yet. My name is Mani." Mani had a large smiled as he grabbed Mikael's hand and dragged him over. He seemed to be squeezing a little too hard if the look of pain on Mikael's face was anything to go by. "If you ever attack my students again." He paused for effect. "I will _kill_ you. Though, I sure it won't come to that." He released his hand and pushed him onto a chair. Jude followed smiling a little bit at Mikael's expense. Ren didn't even bother hiding her large smirk.

It was only a minute or so before the twins also exited and sat down.

"Now that everyone is here we can begin. Iggy and I will take you to main hall, which is also the dining room where you will take your meals from this point on. There will be some teachers there. They are there to see if people have talent enough to take their classes, but most of the beginner classes don't need a prerequisite talent. However, for something like Beginner Divination you must show that you have the skill to the teacher. Alright. Ready?" He stood not waiting for an answer and walked to the door. "Let's go."

* * *

AN: ALRIGHT! Tell me I'm awesome. Cause I totally am, right? RIGHT?

I am finally **done **with the set up chapters. More than 70,000 words into the story and I am just now getting to writing in the actual school part. I thought I should introduce you all to one of the big bads in the Realm. Mikael's father is an evil, evil sonofabitch. At more than 2000 years old though, no one can really tell him what to do anymore. He has got more than a few aces up his sleeves, but I do really just want to slit his throat and be done with it.

Did anyone else notice that I had exactly 64,000 words with the last chapter? I mean what are the chances right? It was completely unplanned just luck of the draw I guess. Just more proof that I am awesome, right? ;D

Mikael still refers to Jude as 'the human' in his head which I find fun. He gives no excuses for himself either. He attacked Jude because he was hungry and thought he could win, no secret evil reason. Just good old fashioned amorality. He just doesn't see himself as bad.

I loved writing that interaction between Ren and Mikael. Ren who despises all things vampire and Mikael that couldn't really fight back. Jude's unintentional order that will stop him from starting any fights. Fun times, man, fun.

Healer Janvis has a special type of accent, don't compare it to a human one, it won't fit. His race is elder fae. I don't think I got to mention that, just that he is a purple bug man. Fun though, right?

This AN has gone on way to long. I'm going to stop soon I think.

Right, remember to review. I don't know how long this writing bug will last, but I intend to drag it out for as long as possible. Reviews feel it._ Feed it..._

Peace Out,

~Rain


	10. What Should I Take?

**Author's Note:**

Recap: Harry has once again done the impossible and survived a Dementor's kiss. He escaped, but his cousin didn't. He went home to find that sometime during the night his relatives had been murdered. He escapes, but is later found by Dumbledore. He is taken the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters and told that he is danger to himself and others. He has Magically Matured which makes him very powerful, but because it happened so young and without training he has no control over his magic. He has to go to a new school, but before he can get there he goes through a 2 month training spree with the members of the Order.

After a test of his powers and knowledge the newly christened Judius Crux is off to the next great adventure. On his first day at school, he gets into a fight with a group of vampires. He wins and in a spectacular move he shows off just how much power he has...that will probably turn out great, right?

After getting introduced to most of his seven roommates he gets dragged away by an upperclassman to talk to Professor Oberon about the strange sight that he sees in the common room. Oberon informs him that the school has accidently taken a piece of his soul when taking his magic. He is on his way back to his room after releasing a large amount of magic when he is attacked by 4 vampires. The Ring leader of the group is punished by becoming Jude's servant for a month. The group of now 8 students is headed to the main hall to sign up for classes.

Disclaimer: I don't own the work of J.K. Rowling and never will. In no way will I purposefully try to plagiarize anyone else's work. All ideas about how magic works or the Magical Realm are my own.

* * *

_Chapter 9 Conclusion:_

_"Now that everyone is here we can begin. Iggy and I will take you to main hall, which is also the dining room where you will take your meals from this point on. There will be some teachers there. They are there to see if people have talent enough to take their classes, but most of the beginner classes don't need a prerequisite talent. However, for something like Beginner Divination you must show that you have the skill to the teacher. Alright. Ready?" He stood not waiting for an answer and walked to the door. "Let's go."_

* * *

**Chapter 10: What Should I Take?**

* * *

Jude just smiled a little as Mani trotted out of the room, but just as he was getting ready to follow he remembered something and held Mikael back.

"Look, you can't tell anyone else what you saw in my room alright. That goes from now till this little punishment is over. Anything you see or hear in my room is out of discussion with anyone except myself. Understand?" Jude waited till he nodded then walked out the room.

As Jude exited into the Hallway he was surprised to see it so full. The last time he had been out there the hall had been completely empty and if he wasn't mistaken the door to their common room had been in a different spot. Jude quickly fell into step behind Sven, which was a good idea because the golem was practically a bulldozer pushing students out of the way. Mani led the group in front and Iggy per usual was reading a book while finishing the line. He was also the one that kept the members of the group from getting lost in the crowd. It was a few minutes later that they finally exited into the main lobby that they had been in on the first night.

He was distracted from the spender by Ren's snickering.

"What's up?" Jude asked while trying to see what she was laughing at.

"Look at those leeches." Ren said smiling, as she pointed to a group of 3 vampires that were sneering at the boy that was following Jude sedately. "From ringleader to social outcast in a matter of hours. I love how things change so quickly." She laughed again. Jude spared a look behind him to see Mikael with his head still high.

"Students, your attention please?" Once again the Headmistress was addressing the school. "The doors behind me lead to the main dining room of the school. This is where you will have all your meals during the school year, but this will be the only time you see it during this beginning week. Inside of the rooms will be tables with teachers sitting behind them. Each of the teachers represents their field of magic and if you want to take any classes from a specific field you must first go to that professor and get permission. Your group mentors will hand you each a list of classes that you can apply for and a list of classes that you are required to take. There are some courses that everyone in the school must take at a certain time, like the beginner defense class that all of you will be in. However, depending on your case you may have more or less required classes than you fellows." She gave a pause and continued. "When you are ready please come inside."

With that she opened the doors behind her and glided into the room. Jude got a glimpse of the blue walls inside before Mani caught his attention.

"Alright, here we are. This is yours." Mani smiled and handed him two pieces of paper before sliding over to the next person in the group.

Jude looked down at the paper and was surprised to see that he had been signed up for two classes besides the beginner defense class that the Headmistress told everyone about.

**Internal Magic: Magic of the Mind, Body, and Soul. Professor Julius Magnus**

**Healing Basics. Professor Mikar**

**Beginner Offense and Defense. Professor Myinar Akuson**

"Damn it." Jude spun around at Mikael's expletive.

"What's wrong?"

"Professor Akuson is known for being a particular pain for anyone taking his class." Mikael answered.

"What's that got to do with you?" Jude asked curiously. Mikael answered with a glare.

"I am your servant, remember, any class that you take and I take must be the same section. I got stuck in there with you." Mikael glared again as if it was somehow Jude's fault. "Anyway, what are you doing in the Internal Magic class I've never heard of a human taking it before." Mikael asked curiously. This time it was Jude that answered with a glare.

"Nothing that you need to know about." Jude answered before staring at him speculatively. "Hey, how did you know that about Professor Akuson?" Mikael scoffed.

"Please, you think I would ever enter a school without already knowing the ins and outs. Months before I was ever accepted I was doing research on this place and gaining information. I needed to know what I was getting into, and now I do." Mikael looked especially smug while saying this. Jude's eyes lit up.

"An example?"

"What do you want to know?"

"What do you think I should know?" Jude asked curiously. Mikael laughed a little.

"That might take hours." Mikael kept smirking at Jude, but looked around the room. When he finally saw something he like he pointed it out to Jude. "Alright, look at her."

The girl he was pointing out was blonde, maybe five feet and 4 inches tall. She was also beautiful with a face most would kill to have and a body that looked both strong and very flexible. She was smiling at a group of students and was still passing out papers. She was also very human.

"What? Who is that?" Jude asked once he got out of his stupor.

"That is Lexie Thompson, she is an informer." Mikael told him.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

Mikael sighed before answering. "It is a job title, oh ignorant one. One that has different descriptions everywhere, but one of the most powerful jobs in the school. She gets you information and as payment she takes some of yours. She has blackmail on some of the most influential people in the school and outside of it. She is one example as a witch who has thrived here. There are really only two types of humans that survive, those that get strong enough to fight back, or those that become pets to those strong enough to fight back. At first that was exactly what she was, a pet, a rather shy and silent on too, but left alone long enough and she started gathering the secrets of her masters and bam. Two years ago she came out one of the top informers in the school. I should also inform you that she is one of the most promiscuous people at the school. She has slept with a good majority of the upper class student body and some major politicians outside of school. That's how she gets some of the information so be careful around her."

Jude spent another minute staring at Lexie before turning around again. This time he looked at Mikael like a recently discovered gold mine.

"I think I just found a job for you." Jude smirked at the look that crossed Mikael's face. "I am ordering you to tell me all the information you know that you think might be useful to me. You don't have to tell me right now, but every time you think of something that could be useful to me I want you to tell me."

"Alright then, Professor Ivan Danik is your best chance at finding any information about enchantment." Mikael back up a little. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go sign up for classes." Jude looked at him for a second before stopping his escape.

"You're taking this whole thing a lot better than I thought you would, why?"

"I don't know if your tiny human brain could understand this, but as of right now things are pretty okay for me. I could be dead right now and I'm not. I could be forced to do something far worse than giving out information. So, while I am not particularly happy about giving away my far earned knowledge for free, if that is the price I must pay for my punishment so be it."

-ID-

"Well, that's an interesting development." Ivan Danik commented to his two companions the Headmistress and the fool Oberon.

"Which part the enchantment or the Donkinof thing." Oberon casually stated while lounging. Ivan was just able to resist the urge to smack him again when the Headmistress answered.

"Well, this is working even better than I expected."

"What?" Oberon asked her. Elina looked down in semi-amusement.

"Ryinon do you know why most of Donkinof's 'children' are such annoying little brats?" Elina asked smugly.

"What has that got to do with it?" Ivan sighed, once again the Sidhe fool was missing the entire point.

"Look, fool, when Donkinof makes his children he puts an enchantment on them, gives them a bit of himself. Most vampires do when they make children, but Donkinof has corrupted the process he has made his offspring little more than slaves, extensions of his being. It is disgusting, but since it has always been so the Oldest won't do anything about it. However, Elina and I sought to change that. The experiment is going better than expected."

"What did you do?" The fool asked again.

"Ryin, you see the ring that Mister Donkinof has on his finger? While that ring is partly the tool of his servitude it is also the tool that will hopefully bring about his freedom. A person can only have one master as far as magic is concerned and since Mister Crux is the closer of the two and has some legitimate claim the magic is fighting it out. The ring is helping in the battle. Forcing the servitude to Crux and resisting the servitude to his 'father'." Elina explained patiently. Ryinon gave out a gasp of surprise and excitement that made Ivan want to smack him again. The Sidhe was one of the most ignorant smart people he had ever met.

"However, the reversal of his father's traits are happening faster than expected. I did not think we would be able to see results in the same day." Ivan asked curiously.

"That could be for any number of reasons. Ivan was surrounded by Crux's magic all last night it could have sped it along. Of the fact that the school's wards act as a buffer to any outside forces that may want to get in. Or it could be for other reasons." Elina patted the wall behind her and gave a not so subtle glance at Gunther. Once again the never subtle Oberon gave a loud 'Ohhh'.

"You mean you think it has something to do with _Her_?" Ivan couldn't resist the urge anymore and smacked the back of Oberon's head while covering his mouth.

"Have you no tact?" Ivan hissed furiously at him.

"Now, now boys, stop fighting it is time to join the others in welcoming our new students." Elina smiled at the two of them and disappeared. Ivan took this moment to dissolve Oberon's chair, but not quick enough to actually catch the Sidhe.

"See you later grumpy." Oberon smiled and whistled while walking away. It made Ivan want to hit him again. Nevertheless, the day wasn't completely wasted he was still going to meet the newest fresh meat on the menu today. Ivan took a second to look over Jude again and walked into the Dining Hall.

-JC-HP-

Jude couldn't help but stop and stare at the Dining Room as soon as he went inside. It made the people walking behind him rather unhappy, but Jude didn't care. He was taken in by the wall's blue color which reminded him a little of the sky, but seemed a little darker. The tables in the room were lined along the walls with signs above each one and teachers behind each table. He quickly made his way to the Charms table and the Transfiguration table. After that however, it got tougher. With the choice to take three more classes he was having trouble deciding which ones he wanted.

He had taken Potions, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures last year, but this year none of those classes really seemed appealing. Iskola didn't care what classes you were taking. It very rarely required you to take something, and if it did it was because you needed that class. Potions had been ruined by Snape and while they had sort of gotten along over the summer, at least they didn't kill each other, it didn't make Jude anymore kind to Potions. Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures were both fine classes, but not really what he think he needed right now.

Jude sighed and looked around at the tables trying to find something that would hold his attention. It wasn't until he saw Professor Oberon glaring at a student from behind a table that said Weather Magic that he decided to go over and talk to him. He was approaching when the student burst into tears and ran away. Oberon turned to glare at him and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Mr. Crux, how good to see you again. What brings you to my humble side of the room?" Oberon said while leaning back in his chair.

"I was just trying to find some more interesting classes to take. I've got five already and it says I can have up to eight."

"Mighty ambitious aren't you, most people only pick six. What have you chosen so far?" Oberon asked

"Well, I have the Beginner Defense and Offense class, Internal Magic, Healing Basics, Transfiguration Level 1, and Charms Level 2. Anything else I should add?" Jude asked.

"Well, you can always go for Weather Magic, learn to control the skies in your palms." Oberon gave a cackle at this and Jude found it had not to laugh at him. "Of course, it the powers of the heavens above isn't to your fancy, what about culture classes. You could do with a sprucing up." Jude smiled at Oberon and nodded, that sounded like a good idea.

"Where is it?"

"Just over there. I think the first course you can take is called something like 'Keeping You Foot Out of Your Mouth 101'. I think so." Oberon got lost in thought and shooed Jude away.

Jude went and signed up for that class next and while it wasn't nearly as fun a name as the one Oberon gave it Jude put it on his schedule anyway. He then started looking at the other tables again.

His eyes passed over the signs for Necromancy, Dark Arts, Voodoo Magic, Summoning Magic, Ritual Magic and Thread Magic before he saw something. It wasn't a table or sign that caught his eye though. There was what looked to be a shadowy figure standing behind the Thread Magic table. It was about the same height as him and made out of shadows. It looked like it had three hands and glowing holes in his head for eyes.

"So you can see them?" Jude whirled around it shock his magic almost going on the offensive. He managed to realize it was Ren a second before his magic tore into her.

"Gees, Ren, don't do that." Jude settled down.

"Sorry, unintentional." Ren's smirk gave Jude the impression that she was lying. "So you can see them then?" She pointed to the figure on the wall and then another one that Jude hadn't seen in another place.

"There are more than one? What are they?" Jude asked cautiously.

"Well, I'm surprised you can see them as students really aren't supposed to. The only reason I can see them is because I already knew they existed. My brothers have gone here before me and even more of my clan has gone, so they told me. Of course, when one tried to sneak into my room last night I really knew what they look like." Ren tried to explain. "They are part of the school, Gunther is what they call themselves. Like a house elf in Wizard World, except much better. Most of the population of the school never even know that they exist and they have a great talent for keeping hidden. My clan is especially good at spotting them because we are shadow demons and Gunther is primarily made of shadows."

"So why can I see them?" Jude asked hesitantly not really knowing if he wanted the answer.

"That I don't know Jude. I can't know everything I just met you two days ago." Ren smirked and opened up her paper. "So what have you got for classes?"

Jude and Ren quickly swapped information. Ren had already picked out her seven classes and had decided to head back to the common room to rest for a while. Before she left he asked her one more question.

"Do you know where I can find a Ivan Danik?" Ren's face flashed with surprise and wariness.

"What do you want with that guy? He doesn't really teach anything that someone like you can use." Ren said.

"I was just wondering." Jude replied trying not to give anything away.

"He is over there. See you later." Ren pointed to a table clearly marked: '**Persuasion and Control Magic**'. The man sitting behind it was striking to say the least. He had light brown hair to his shoulders and a very distinctive look. His eyes were blue and if Jude didn't know better he would say he was a Wizard. However, it only took one second for his magic to show him an image overlaid on the man. The Vampire was covered in blood and his eyes glowed an eerie red. After the image faded away all it took was a glimpse of a fang to know it was the truth. Professor Danik was a vampire.

Jude shook off and went over to the table. There was a line though and it didn't take long to realize that the majority of people in the line were vampires or something very similar to them. It made Jude almost wish that Mikael was around. The way that the people in line were looking at him like a very tasty piece of meat made him more than uncomfortable.

Once he got to the front of the line it wasn't much better. The look of hunger that crossed the Professor's face was more than disturbing and Jude thought that he might have seen the teacher wet his lips a little before his turn.

"Hello, little human, you seem to be in the wrong line, but what can I help you with?" Jude pushed down the urge to squirm and looked straight at him.

"It has to do with a somewhat private matter." He almost shivered when the Professor answered.

"Oh really, how fun." He gracefully got up from the table and waved at Jude to follow him. He stopped when her got to a side room off the Dining Hall.

"Now what can I do for you?" Jude looked him straight in the eye. He didn't know if this was the right person to trust, but he needed to know more about enchantment, the room that the school provided him with proved that much, and as much as he hated it, this was his best bet.

"I need some information about enchantment." Jude said, looking him straight in the eyes. He was a little surprised when only a glimmer of shock showing in the man's face.

"Do you now, and why exactly did you come to me for this information?"

"I heard from a person that you might know something about it." Jude answered.

"Really now? How curious. Well then, if I did have such information, what were you thinking I would do with it?"

"I need lessons." Jude said slowly, he had the feeling he was going to walk into a trap.

"And what exactly, would you be willing to do to procure these 'lessons'?" The Professor took a step closer to Jude. Jude could almost see the tension in the room, he magic stirred wondering if it needed to protect him. However, Jude got the impression that even if he was at full power there was very little he would be able to do to stop this man from doing whatever he wanted. The Professor licked his lips again and stared at him with eyes glinting red. Jude could almost see the lust behind them.

"I'm not really willing to do anything like that." Jude said as a blush crossed his face. He really had no interest at all sexually with the creature in front of him, it wasn't just that the Professor was a man, but it certainly didn't help. Jude didn't think he'd ever be willing to give sex for payment of anything, especially with a male teacher.

Almost instantly the tension in the room broke. The Professor took a step back and looked at Jude like he was trying to solve a puzzle. It was almost like he turned into a completely different person in a second. Jude could see the gears flying in his mind and he realized just how old the person he was speaking to was. He realized this guy had seen centuries pass, and instantly felt insignificantly small.

"So you want lessons in enchantment?" Danik asked. "Why should I give them to you?"

Jude froze in thought.

"Um, well, aren't you a teacher? Isn't it your job?" Jude flushed in embarrassment when the Professor laughed at him.

"Dear, Mr. Crux, you really haven't thought this through. My _job_ right now is to do one thing exactly. That is to test students to see if they would have an ability in the art of Persuasion and Control of others. I can complete my job to you by right now telling you that you would perhaps be the person with the least ability for those particularly arts in the entire school."

Jude bristled a little at that and turned to leave.

"Wait, Mr. Crux, I never said that I wouldn't help you. I just desire payment." Professor Danik smiled at Jude.

"Well, what do you want?" Jude asked calmly. He didn't really like this man.

"You want me to teach you Enchantment, I can do this. All I require in return is your ability to perform the magic whenever I ask." The Professor said calmly.

"You want me to enchant things for you?" Jude asked cautiously.

"Of course I do, it is almost a lost art, what little knowledge I have recovered of it I am willing to give over to you. One of the disadvantages to living a long time is watching art forms die out because people have forgotten how to do them. And since I can't perform the magic..."The Professor waited for him to fill in the blanks.

"No." Jude answered abruptly. Professor Danik looked shocked. "My enchanting abilities for you twice a month."

"Haggling, lovely. Twice a week and two extra every month." Danik smiled at him showing off his fangs. Jude rolled his eyes.

"One a week and three extra a month." Jude smiled back.

"Deal. Shake on it." Ivan held out his hand innocently. Jude hesitantly put out his, he didn't trust the man.

All it took was seconds. Ivan shook his hand and in the middle of the shake Jude felt a prick on his finger, it only took a second until his finger was in Danik's mouth and the Professor was licking the blood away. Jude barely had time to tug away in shock before the hole had closed up and there was no evidence of any wrong doing.

"Oh, dear, did the little human not know how vampire's seal their deals." Danik gave a loud laugh again. "Just make sure you are in my class room from 3-5 in the afternoons on Tuesday and Thursday. I'll teach you enchantment to your heart's content." Danik laughed again and opened the door back to the Dining Hall.

Jude had found his seventh class. He just wasn't too sure it was a good decision. If anything though, the school year just got a whole lot more interesting.

* * *

AN: WOO! Another chapter. Sorry about the wait, but not really. I have school and other very important pursuits I don't live just for you, you know. I'm not your personal Mikael, lol. Wouldn't that be nice though. I always thought that I of all people really deserved a minion, but we can't always have what we want. I hope you still love me, and if you don't, *sigh*, I suppose that is fine as well.

Leave a Review, as always, to show me how much you love me (Or not)


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